Singing to the Wind
by Mori No Hikari
Summary: The trials and tribulations of one mysterious and spectacular girl as she unconsciously weaves herself into the world of the Sengoku Jidai, becoming closer to discovering what the meaning of life truly is...
1. Prologue

This was basically just me with a bunch of ideas and nowhere to put them, so I came up with this. It has undergone many changes over the past year, because that's how long I've been writing it. I only recently thought it had become good enough to post, and so I've been dividing it into chapters all this time.

It isn't technically my first Inuyahsa fanfiction, but I haven't posted the others, so it might as well be. Besides, I'm not sure the other ones are quite good enough yet to be posted. Though I do have them as work-in progresses. I may just ditch one of them. It's really short, and it hasn't been going anywhere for a while, so I figure, what's the point, huh?

At any rate, when you finish reading each chapter, I'd really like it if you reviewed. I haven't reall shown this to my friends to the point of them actually reading it. They only know it as 'the good one'.

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**Singing To The Wind**

Chapter One

_Prologue

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The wind pushed gently against the Irish dragon's back as she flew across the southern mountains of Japan. The forests beneath her were abundant, and she decided to drop down for a rest, seeing as the trees would give her much-needed cover. Ellyria had been running from all humans she'd seen for what might well have been forever. All they really did was try and kill her anyway, and what Ellyria wanted was to live a quiet, long life, and fly as long as she could.

Lying low enough to be hidden by the trees, Ellyria figured she might as well search for food. She was hungry. And there didn't seem much else to do but root around in the underbrush. Perhaps today she would come across a fine meal of rabbit, or maybe a snack of some lizard or other. Oh, she could hardly wait.

Passing a few small clearings, she found very few signs of sufficient sustainment around. There were squirrels, but they were scared off by her before she even saw them. A few rabbits' dens were spotted, but again, dragons were hardly welcome to small, furry animals. It was look, see, bolt like heck for the bunnies.

Ah! There went one! Ellyria followed it to it's den and tried to find it with her claws. Her appendage barely fit, and didn't go that deep, so the effort was obviously fruitless.

Swinging her head around to find another small rodent to snack upon, her eyes were snagged by something. A rabbit, perchance? No, upon further inspection, the object of excitement was an egg. Large, and white, but much bigger than anything that should be native to a forest. Perhaps it was a meal for her today. One never knew. Drawing closer, Ellyria saw that it must have been abandoned. Her mothering instinct kicked in, and she plucked a few leaves from the sycamore that the egg was leaning against and wrapped them around it, adding pulled grass for more insulation. Ellyria then proceeded to tuck it into her wing so that it might be warmed by the many intricate blood vessels running through it.

A few weeks passed, and Ellyria wondered when the egg would hatch. For certain, it was alive, she could see that when she carefully held the egg up to the light. The definite shape of the creature inside could not be ascertained, but it would come with the hatching. Ellyria decided that she would just have to wait and be patient. It wasn't as though the creature could be all that dangerous to her. Even if it was, she had sheer size on it anyway.

About two and a half months after the finding, the dragon's patience paid off. A small cracking was heard while Ellyria was napping, and she shot up, knowing what was going on. Tiny fissures were seen, then they widened, and one piece of the shell was forced up by a miniscule golden beak. The egg tooth on the bird (as it so obviously was one now) made quick work of the rest of the shell, tumbling out when there was no more support. It didn't peep, but it looked up at Ellyria and supposed that the thing it was staring at was it's mother. It stretched around it's neck as though it were preparing for something it would need it for. Then was it that Ellyria noticed the bird's plumage. While premature, it was clearly an indicator of the coming adulthood. Mostly red, with tiny wings that had flecks of gold on the top and white on the bottom. The bird also had a white underbelly, and a crest made up of alternating red and gold feathers. There was a shock, though, for the fore feather on its head was an electric blue.

The next month was amazing for Ellyria, as she strove to provide for her newfound child. She was in a fog as to the gender, but that didn't matter. What did was that the bird that, last week, had been barely large enough to fit in Ellyria's palm, a good twenty centimeters across, could now take on a large dog for size.

Over time, Ellyria grew very attached to the creature, and managed to develop the stealth needed to catch small rodents, and often fed them to her adopted offspring. The bird also seemed to enjoy eating grass. Ellyria couldn't discern why, as she thought it was completely horrid. But she accepted whatever her child wanted.

A year passed. How, Ellyria was not sure. Time didn't seem as important. But she wanted to figure out a birthday for the bird, whom she still hadn't attempted to name. Wrong names were a burden. And the bird was technically born twice. Once when it came out of it's mother as an egg, and once when it hatched. Since the dragon had no idea when the bird came out if it's mother, she gave it's first birthday as the day she found the egg. Which happened to be right at the european new year, as she recalled. What a coincidence, then, that the little one's second birthday be on the Japanese new year. This embraced youngling was a double miracle, as far as birth dates were concerned. And the chick now seemed as fully grown as she would get, with a wingspan of twenty feet or so. Her neck was about three-quarters the proportional length of a swan's, giving it an elegant look. And still no idea if it was a male or a girl. Ellyria had no inkling as how to find that out. And she didn't really have a necessity to. As far as she was concerned, her child was loved by her, and that was all that mattered. So she snatched a corpulent bunny and swiftly broke it's neck to take home.

When she got back, the chickling was crouched up, its wings folded under it. And the eyes were confused, a little bit scared. Ellyria didn't drop the rabbit, but she rushed (as much as a dragon can rush, considering their both bulk and long legs) to the bird's side. It wasn't hurt, but something was causing it discomfort. Ellyria stepped back as the poor thing began to glow, and light shot out of it's upturned beak, swirling around it's form. Ellyria had to shut her eyes until the brightness passed.

Opening her scaly orbs, she was shocked. In front of her, where the young bird had been lying, there was a sleeping child. An actual human girl. Or she looked human, at least. And the girl was wearing a small white kimono, adorned in printed lavender and powder blue blossoms. Porcelain skin was partly covered by crimson sunset hair, long and lushly waved. And Ellyria, while afraid of humans, did not run, knowing somehow that it was the bird she had known for a year.

The girl sat up, opening her eyes to reveal azure orbs as deep as the purest seas. They held the same spirit as that of her alter ego, but more intelligent. And the girl appeared to be about three or so. She smiled, a truly warm and comforting glow almost emanating from her person. "Hi, mommy!" her voice was as clear as a small bell, perfectly tuned, and reverberating softly. Then she ran up to her "mommy" and gave her a big hug 'round the neck. Then she stood back a bit, almost studying the dragon. As if deciding on something, she patted her  
accepted mother on the snout, a small blue ball of energy passing from her into Ellyria.

Words came to the large creature's mouth. "You are so pretty, my little one." Startled by her sudden speaking abilities, she decided to ask, "Why did you give me voice?"

The little girl shrugged. "I wanted to talk, and I wanted you to answer. Your voice is really nice." More smiling.

"Well, now that I can name you, what shall we call you, little one?"

"You'll think of something," the girl said, sounding so very confident in her parent.

"I think... Hikari. It means light in the language of these parts."

The newly named Hikari smiled. "I like it. I feel made of light. Can we fly," she asked suddenly, just like a normal child would ask for a treat.

"Would you like to use your own wings, darling?"

Hikari shook her head, curls bouncing everywhere. "I want to see everything with you, Mama."

And so, the small and wondrous child climbed onto her mother's back and wrapped her tiny arms around Ellyria's neck. "Hold on tight," the dragon warned, in quite the maternal fashion. Then she pushed off, flapping her wings several times to gain enough height before she soared.

The sweet little girl hanging onto her squealed and giggled. When the excitement died down, she was simply awestruck. "Everything is so tiny," she breathed. "And the forest doesn't look so gosh-darn big. I thought it went on until forever. Wow, those are big mountains. And look at the white stuff on them! Is that snow? Do you think it's as fluffy as it looks?"

"Snow is wet sweetheart, and it turns into water when it touches you."

Hikari cocked her head. "You mean it poofs, and then it's water? How does water get to be snow?"

Ellyria chuckled at her child's questions. "It doesn't 'poof', it melts. Snow is really cold water."

"Like a pond in the winter? But snow is white, and the pond is shiny and see-through."

Ellyria craned her neck to answer the child's inquiries. "It's the same thing, dear. The snow is all that, just really small pieces of it."

"How small," Hikari asked, cuddling into her mother's neck, and looking very comfortable.

"As small as ants, dear. Do you remember how small those ants are, Hikari?" And she turned back around to look at the girl, only to find her sound asleep, peaceful as an angel. Ellyria dropped back down into the trees and touched down at their home. She set her child down on the soft grass and covered her with a wing before lying down to rest herself.

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Hikari-If you are reading this, then I have two things to tell you! One- Stop being so lazy and leave areview! Two- Thank you for reading!

Kayo- And again, I make an appearance in my girlfriend's story. Really, people, review. She loves feedback, and even if you insult her, she won't care. She's really the bounciest person I know. Insults thrown at her are basically like throwing sand at a wall. She's impervious, in my opinion.

Hikari- I beg to differ! There is only one method of entry into me, and that is by-

Kayo- Honey, I don't think that they want to hear about that.

Hikari- What are you talking about? I was just going to tell them that you always-

Kayo- Thanks for reading! Bye now!

Hikari- But-


	2. The Act of Making a Home

Here is the second installment of this story. I hope that those of you who have read this far will have thought to review for the previous chapters! You know that it makes me happy, so why don't you do it?

I feel kinda tired today, so I don't think I'll go too hard on you anyway. Normally maiming would be in order for those who refuse to comply, but right now, I only feel like I can glare and insult... Oh well.

Read the story, now!

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**Singing to the Wind**

Chapter 2

_The Act of Making a Home

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Several years passed in a fashion much like this, with Hikari learning every step of the way. She grew very little the first two years, and only appeared to be four after that, at least, she would have to any human, but there was a very obvious lack of them around. But she continued to surprise her mother, and one day, accidentally created something she'd seen in her dreams, a sort of cylindrical wooden implement, that had a black, almost burned streak running right in the middle, sharpened to a point. On the opposite end, attached by a metal band, was a pink, rather firm, and yet cushy material that when Hikari rubbed it against her palm, tiny pieces of it came off. Then a white piece of what Ellyria recognized as parchment materialized with a yellow glow. Only it was far smoother than any she'd seen. But Hikari knew it was from one of her dreams, and she touched the pointed end of the stick to the parchment and drew something. It was a drawing of her mother, and it was very talented for a three-year-old, albeit a very extraordinary one. Ellyria tucked that drawing under one of her chest scales.

And then there was the time that she finished an entire lecture for her mother. Hikari was about six then, and her mother was trying to warn her about going out by herself. And then Hikari finished the part about there being strange things in the forest, predators, and japanese demons, called youkai, who might mistake her for a human, and enslave her. Then she would die unhappy and wishing she had stayed at home. And then Hikari asked what predators were and what 'enslaved' meant. So she could apparently read minds.

In fact, Hikari was a very powerful little girl. By thinking of fire, she could create it, and she seemed to have a special bond with all of the animals, almost able to talk to them, it seemed. And her dreams were often confusing, and obviously prophetic, but the trouble was, she could only remember them for about five minutes after she woke up.

One day, when Hikari was nine, a monk, traveling with a mother and her children, rushed into the woods, seeking shelter from those that were chasing them. Hikari was playing in the trees, with the squirrels, and she swung down right in front of the monk, startling him. She quite politely asked why he was in her forest, and he told her the situation. She called the men that were after them 'mean stupid-heads', and stormed off. The monk came to look, and found her dancing around their rope-bound bodies, poking them in the heads. They were awake, and gagged. But one of them wiggled out of his gag and insulted her, also calling the people 'fiends'. Hikari smiled, then leaned down, an evil glint in her eyes. She spoke to that man, and he cowered when she finished. Then she stood up, cheerful as ever. She informed the monk that the bad men wouldn't hurt them, and that no bad things were allowed in her forest.

The monk bowed to her and she led him and the family to a clearing, where they could build a home and a shrine. She literally swept away a few more trees in case any others needed refuge. The people there used those trees to build what they needed.

And lo, for if you should build it, they will come. And they did. Some of the people were refugees from villages corrupted by evil, and some were simply nomads tired of moving from place to place. Soon the village actually had a main street. And a population of 100. Hikari was content to watch the village grow, and see the first children be born in it, but the villagers were so grateful that they felt that they needed to give her something else. So they pooled their resources, and within the month they had built her a palace with trees that were on the opposite side of the mountain from the village. Fate had blessed the village with kind hearts and skillful hands to do the work. Hikari had not known because she had been away with her mother, who had been clued in when the plan first hatched.

And when she returned, Hikari was ecstatic. She began to dance around the structure (which had yet to be furnished, by the way), and going inside, somehow managed to conjure up all of the perfect things to go inside, placed exactly where she wanted them. There was even a large annex on back for her mother to sleep in, directly connected to the master(or in this case, mistress) bedroom.

After this power-using spree, she dashed outside and right to the village monk, hugging him with all her might. He smiled and patted her on the back, then gestured for all to join the embrace. There were so many trying to hug on that spot that some were in danger of falling off of the edge of the cliff the palace was on.

Hikari and her mother lived quite comfortably in the palace for the next three years, with villagers always bringing them things to eat. And the first time a villager brought food, Ellyria was astounded when Hikari managed to devour it within seconds of the donator leaving. Ellyria supposed that she had never learned this about her little girl because Hikari never complained about not having anything to eat. Occasionally, she would say she was hungry, but that was pretty much it. But now that it was there, Hikari would vacuum anything classified as "edible" up like here was no tomorrow.

And then there was the subject of Ellyria and the villagers. There was absolutely no doubt that most of them were scared to death of her at first, and they tended to not enjoy being in her presence. Many would drop in, and drop out, claiming to be in a hurry. Once in a while, Ellyria sat near the door and slowly snaked her tail in front of it while the person was trying to get Hikari to finish the conversation. Hikari, of course, knew nothing of it the first time, and just happened to like talking with her subjects. But then she laughed when they tripped, even though she simultaneously scolded her mother for being such a trickster. But it became the town joke and people pretty much got just annoyed enough by it that some of them would stop being afraid. It was slow work, though, if one can call it work.

All in all, the general feeling of the town was a great peacefulness. Everybody helped with whatever was needed. There were three bells that hung from a small tower next to the shrine. The largest, and jolliest, was rung for celebrations. The designated Celebration Day was the day that the first people had come to live there. It was the day when everybody's birthday was recognized, whether or not they had had it already. A great feast was prepared, and furs were put on the grass in the clearing adjacent to the village, for people to lie down upon and sleep underneath the stars.

The second bell, which was of middle pitch and size, was to warn of coming storms. The village, being surrounded on three sides by mountains, was prone to flooding, and so a system of caves had been dug into the mountains for the villagers to retreat to in such circumstances. The residents also put tar on their roofs between layers of thatching for protection from leaks. Anything vulnerable to water damage was wrapped in oilskins and stored up in the rafters.

The third and smallest bell was only rung to warn of invaders, human or otherwise. The people were made to know the sound of this bell once every year, so that they would know what to do when it wasn't a drill. Again, the caves were to be used, but this time to hide.

Indeed, with all of this, the village was prosperous. Hikari would often descend and walk along the three streets for a while, just looking at how it was growing. Occasionally, some small children would dash in front of her, playing some sort of game, and she would smile and laugh inwardly. They were always so very happy.

After observing whatever was happening in the downtown, Hikari would always go to the small shrine and visit with the monk. He would greet her as always, very formally. She liked it, but she knew that she'd told him that it wasn't necessary.

The usual conversation usually stuck to this format, "Greetings, Hikari-sama ('sama' is a suffix given to those of high ranking). May I offer you a drink?" The monk rarely changed his script.

"I don't need one, but thank you. I was simply stopping by, to see the village." Hikari would seat herself in front of the idol of Buddha as she talked.

"But the village is no doubt dull and tiresome to one such as yourself. Why do you insist on troubling yourself to come all the way down here?"

"On the contrary, dear monk (sometimes she would address him as 'good friend' or 'sir monk'). The village changes all the time. I must know of these, seeing as I am the leader of these parts."

"As we always remember," the monk would reply, and bow. "You have given us your hospitality, and we must ever be repaying you for it."

Hikari often laughed at this point. "The village pays me back with every smile the children have on their faces, houshi-sama (this means 'sir monk'). Smiles have more monetary value than the largest diamond in the world. I should hardly want any better reward."

After that, the conversation usually was dropped, and Hikari would leave the shrine.

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Hikari- Hello again! I really have no idea why Kayo stopped me from talking last time-He probably thought I was speaking in innuendos. But, at any rate, I was saying that the only thing that can penetrate me is food. Cook me good food, and I am half yours. The other half of me belongs to a mental institute.

Saikyou- He Hii-chan!

Hikari- Sai-sai! How nice of you to join me! Why are you here?

Saikyou- (shrugs) I got more bored than usual. Have you seen Leonard?

Hikari- Who? Do you mean Hec-

Saikyou- Don't say it! (softer) You never know who might be listening...

Hikari- ...Right. I doubt anyone who is reading this even knows who Hec- Sorry, _**Leonard**_, is. Except for you and me, of course.

Saikyou- Better safe than nutso, I always say!

Hikari- I **_am_** nutso, as you say.

Saikyou- That means I'm not safe! Run away! (runs away)

Hikari- Well, she was a breath of fresh air! Now, all you lovely readers, press the 'review' button and put down your thoughts about this part of the story. It is better if you do it now as opposed to later, when you can't gaurantee you'll remember everything


	3. Departure

Hello again, people! It is my great honor to bestow you with this chapter of my ever continuing story! Although I must admit that I am rather dissappointed that nobody had yet reviewed... So just do it, 'kay?

Happy reading!

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**Singing to the Wind**

Chapter 3

_Departure_

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About a fortnight (that's two weeks) after Hikari's second twelfth birthday, Ellyria was flying across the land. She often did this, but for several reasons. Sometimes, she wanted to hunt slightly larger game, such as a deer. Other times the reason would be for her to scout out an threats coming near to her little girl's village. Today, she simply felt uneasy, and wanted the wind to calm her.

Down on the ground, hundreds of feet below the airborne dragon, a spider youkai was also hunting, but he had a taste for birds. He saw the speck high above him, and mistook it for an animal of the aviary sort. Very common for a spider, considering they have such horrible eyesight. He lit his ball of silk on fire, and aimed. Oftentimes, the ball would cook his prey as well as kill it, and this spider liked that sort of convenience.

The ball let loose from the spider's legs and appeared to fly true, but the spider was confused when it didn't reach in the anticipated amount of time.

Nonetheless, it hit it's mark, and Ellyria was burned and fell from the sky, just barely managing to steer herself in the direction of the village while she hurtled to the ground. She almost lost consciousness from the pain, only thoughts of her daughter fueling her mind and burned body.

Back in the village, Hikari was telling the children a wonderful story of romance when the very ground beneath them shuddered. While earthquakes were not unheard of, they didn't happen in this area of the land. Hikari thought she heard a cry, and picked the child off of her lap and told them to stay before bolting for the only edge of the forest not facing a mountain. She somehow transformed into a phoenix in mid-stride, surprising most of the locals. The villagers sensed that something was terribly awry, and the men and the few women without children dropped everything and ran after her.

They found her standing stock still right at the forest's edge, staring at her mother's great mass, wounded and dying. She slowly staggered over to her mother's head, gently lifting it up and placing it on her lap. Her mother strained to see her.

"Hikari? Is that you?" A few tears landed on her eyes, making them glow a bit, and then she could see better. "Ah, my little one. There you are." Then Hikari's strength shattered. Tears flowed freely from her eyes, entire rivers, then oceans, until it seemed all would drown. She shook her head.

"No, mommy, don't go. I need you here."

Ellyria smiled feebly. "You'll be able to see the path now that my wings are not here to shade you from the truth."

"What path," Hikari pleaded. "Mommy, I don't know what you mean. I can't live without you here, with me."

"No you don't," Ellyria said, her voice beginning a permanent decrescendo. "You have no need for me. Be strong while I'm gone, my little fire fairy."

"You make it sound okay. It isn't! You can't go! Don't leave me here alone! Mommy!" It was no use. The intelligent glint had left the old dragon's eyes, and she had departed. Hikari buried her face in her mother's scales, sobbing uncontrollably.

Then something miraculous happened. Hundreds of birds, large and small, flew from the trees. They all grabbed hold of the dragon and with their collective strength, lifted her up and begun a sort of aerial funeral procession to Hikari's palace. They set Ellyria's corpse on the bare ground before the cliff and fluttered off.

Hikari went to the nearest tree and felled it with a wave of the hand, stripping it of all it's branches, and arranging it around her mother's body. The other observers understood her wishes and gathered any sticks they could find, piling them upon the beloved caretaker of theirleader.

Hikari held her palm in front of her, staring at it in an odd way, and a ball of fire appeared. She set it lovingly down onto the kindling, a blaze growing until it consumed the remains of Ellyria.

The bonfire burned all through the day, night, and the next morning, and the last embers died the following night, Hikari not having moved much of all. She had refused anything that anyone would offer her. When night came again, she finally curled up into a ball, watching her mother's ashes cool.

The monk had stayed to watch over her, and he was sleeping nearby. His presence only added to the girl's despair. She had loved her mother, the first being she had ever known. Thinking about her not being there was tearing her apart. She just wanted the pain to stop. Crying helped, but Hikari had no more tears in her. She looked at the cliff, wondering. Would it hurt anymore to die than it would to live? No, it would hurt much less, she concluded.

Standing, she brushed the dirt from her kimono. Then she sped for the edge. As she threw herself off, her heart soared. The wind was against her face, and her pain was about to end. Surely this would be the better way.

But there was one problem. She wasn't falling anymore. She opened her eyes, and she found why. She had wings. Large, white, and full of feathers that were halting her descent.

The pain hit her, and it was a wave of pure desperation. She didn't want this to happen. It was all supposed to stop. But she still felt more loneliness than anyone could possibly survive, and her feet  
touched down on gentle soil. But though the landing was soft, Hikari still crumpled, more tears finding their way down her cheeks once more. Her sobs racked her body, waves of anger and hurt and heartache pouring off of her.

That night, she had a dream. A strange one indeed.

-- _Strange reflective shapes surrounded her, and there was an almost constant blaring. Undisturbed lakes were on the sides of huge structures, and she was standing on hard black dirt. Her clothes were strange, too. She was wearing some sort of fitted tunic, with sleeves that grew gradually wider toward the wrist. She was wearing coarse blue leggings that, at second glance, appeared to be finely woven. A pack was strapped to her back. And she was moving. She didn't have much control over where she was going. _

Then a girl called to her. Or, she called a name and Hikari turned and ran towards her. The girl had light brown hair that reached to just past her shoulders, and it was pulled into a ponytail.

"Come on, we can't stay here forever. Cars may run you over yet." And then the girl giggled, pulling her towards one of the towering buildings. This one had strange writing on it's side, and Hikari had no idea what it meant. "Hurry up, you slowpoke, Kelsey and Scarlet and the others are waiting for us." They took a strange moving staircase up to a corridor, where the girl opened up a white door. Inside were five girls and one boy.

Somehow, Hikari knew all their name by looking at them. The petite one with shoulder-length brown hair was Kelsey. The taller one with a dark complexion and fairly curly hair was Scarlet. The small one with thin brown hair and pieces of glass suspended in front of her eyes was Amber, and the tall one next to her with very short light brown hair was Lynn. A stouter girl with short hair and similar pieces of glass in front of her eyes was Vanessa. There was also a boy with cropped blonde hair whose name she felt was Kyle. They all were in a small chamber with cushy-looking seating.--

The dream ended there, and Hikari woke up, already beginning to forget. She didn't feel capable of emotion. Standing up, she walked stiffly to her palace. The monk was still asleep, so she stood over him for a few seconds. It always seems that when one does that, the other person wakes up very quickly. And the monk did. He looked around, noticing the lack of fire.

"Did it die out, milady?"

Hikari nodded. "Sometime in the night, while you were sleeping."

The monk stood, brushing dirt off of his robes. He started to say something but paused. Then he reconsidered, and tried again. "I know that this may step on sensitive ground, but may I ask what is to be done with your mother's remains?"

"They will be scattered to the winds," the stately girl replied. "She so enjoyed flying. Let her do it forever." Hikari then turned, but not before noticing a glint in the ashes. Upon further investigation, it turned out to be a gigantic sapphire. It had not melted in the fire, but Hikari could not imagine where it had come from. Then, without warning,she suddenly realized that it was her mother's heart. And underneath it she found a single scale and the drawing she had made when she was just a little girl.

Hikari gently picked up these items and walked up to the top of the mountain. The very top was flat, and about two meters wide ('bout six feet) and two and a half long. She conjured a plain stone table, that was very smooth on the top. Upon this table, she set down the things and bowed her head. When she brought it up, there was a small necklace on the table. It seemed to be made from part of the sapphire, and was on a silver chain, with a circle holding the piece of gem, and the pendant was in the shape of a three-pointed celtic knot. She didn't understand, but she clasped it around her neck anyway.

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Hikari-Good morning! I hope you were engaged in this latest chapter. It's sad, I know, but froms sadness springs great joy. I can't remember if I'm making that up or if I heard that froms some great proverb, like 'never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups'. Oh well, I guess it doesn't matter anyway! Let's see who the visitor for today is!

Ani- Hi there, Hikari. What's going on?

Hikari- You're in the ending of my fanfiction!

Ani- Oh joy. Really. I'm just thrilled to be taken away from YET ANOTHER book, and dumped into your writing.

Hikari-I'm glad to hear it!

Ani- You know what? I'll just sit here until you decide to end the chapter, okay? Good.

Hikari- Okay, then! Readers, this is Ani! She also writes fanfictions here. You can find her if you go to my profile and into the 'favorite authors' section! And, until next time, bye!


	4. Blooming into Obscurity

Here's the next chapter, all! I really hope you enjoy it! If you have any questions, then please put them in your review! Arigatou!

Now, read!

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**Singing to the Wind**

Chapter 4

_Blooming into Obscurity

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A week passed, and Hikari's emotional shell was showing signs of cracking. She had begun to smile again, albeit softly and ever so rarely. She was now going on routine strolls in the village again. It was rather settling to do something for the sake of being busy. It keeps minds off of touchy subjects.

In truth, what she was feeling was not sadness. Sadness was to be expected, and it was there, but it was overshadowed by a much more startling emotion. Anger at her mother's departure from the world made her feel empty, and unwanted besides. Hate at Ellyria for leaving, anger at not being able to make her come back, and despair because it was such a hopeless matter. Nothing could be done about it at all, and Hikari hated that more than anything.

She wondered if, given enough of these visits, she would actually heal. Perhaps the sight of happy children would eventually stir something, and she would be able to move on at last. Maybe even as soon as this time around.

What Hikari could never have predicted on this outing, was that a single boy was stupid enough, daring enough to attempt steal while she was there. The boy most certainly had not been thinking about it. And that wasn't it. He dashed in front of Hikari, and tried to grab her cherished necklace. Needless to say, he was startled when she pushed him away, none too gently, and held him there on the ground where he fell, without touching him. He saw her eyes. They had turned black, and small fires were burning in their centers, hot and bright and fierce. As any boy would do upon seeing any such sight, he burst into tears from fear. Her eyes returned to normal, and she shook her head as though coming out of a trance. The boy's mother rushed over.

"Are you okay," She asked her son, checking for broken bones. Shehadn't seen what had taken place, so she figured that he may have just fell on something.

"He's fine. But you may think of teaching him the importance of knowing what is his," Hikari retorted. "Nonetheless, I don't think he'll steal for quite a while." Miraculously, her speech was back to some sense of normalcy. It even had a hint of cheer in it, which was odd, considering that she'd nearly been robbed.

With that, the mother took her son home, and Hikari trudged back up the path to her palace. For some inexplicable reason, she felt so much better. Maybe that incident had helped to make her let go. Of what, though? What was there to really let go of?

Hikari answered her own question. Perhaps it had been the anger at her mother that had left her. She searched around in her feelings, and knew it to be true. She could no longer feel any anger.

And so, in the year 1012 a.d., Hikari forgot how to hate.

In the following years, she traveled to many villages, towns, and cities. She usually dressed in less conspicuous clothes. But she still stuck out. Her red hair was quite the abnormality. As she went around, she tended to find those who needed help. And she helped them, often totheir great surprise. She somehow extinguished a building fire as it was about to trap three young children, and then told them to go back to their mother. When they told her that they were trying to get free food for their other siblings, she laughed and followed them back to their home. There, she pulled loaves of bread from her sleeves, and freshly killed ducks and hens from behind her back. Then she told the children not to steal, and that it would only lead to bad things. They nodded vigorously, having thought that she was a true miracle, and were willing to do whatever she said. She left them, and the oldest thanked her profusely as she walked down the street.

The next city over, she flew (not literally, of course. That would be very odd to onlookers) in front of a horse and cart to save a small puppy, and handed it back to its owner. The girl handed her a gold piece and told her that she was a princess. Hikari simply told her that she didn't need the gold, but thanked her for offering. The princess began to ask her many a question, from where she came from to asking her if she would come to the palace. The questions were many, and all in quick succession.

Hikari wanted to decline, but felt it would be rude. So once inside, she accidentally made a comment on how she had the same of one painting. She had only been trying to be a nobleman's version of polite, but the princess said that it wasn't possible, that she had the artist specially make it. The princess told Hikari that she must be mistaken. Hikari chose not to push the issue any further.

The princess showed her around the castle, all but openly bragging about everything there. Well, okay, so she was actually bragging. And gloating, and rattling on about goodness-knows-what. It was all 'look at...' this and 'dear me, have you ever seen...' that. What can we say, the girl had no shame. She did, however, have plenty of pride.

As they passed a monstrous picture window full of actual glass, Hikari saw that the sun was getting low. She began to say that she really needed to depart.

"I must get home," She insisted.

"Well, where is it," The princess asked, being quite impertinent about it. "I can have my carriages take you there." The princess obviously wanted to show off to the townspeople. Hikari was not impressed at all.

"I'm afraid that it would take you three days to get there by carriage,and more than twice that on foot. I'd prefer to go alone." Hikari did not want this nosy brat finding out about her secret. She thought that  
the princess was annoying enough as it was. And annoying royalty don't usually know how to keep secrets.

The princess was stubborn, but eventually agreed to let her go byherself. The guards, however, were given orders to track her, because the girl just couldn't take 'no' for an answer. Needless to say, they lost her. As soon as they fell asleep, she took flight.

Unfortunately, her story was spreading throughout the land by word of mouth. The people blew everything out of proportion. They gave her powers so vast that she was made into something of worship. It really got ridiculous when she started getting stories from her own villagers. She'd wanted to help people, and not have to live up to any grand expectations.

So she felt the need to disappear.

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Hikari- Hello, masses! Do not fear, for if you thought the wait for this chapter was long- oh, what am I saying? You people don't review, so how would I know what you think? I'm only half psychic, you know. I can't possibly read between the lines if there are no lines to read between! 

Terra- What she's trying to say is that she is very dissappointed with the reader participation. But, of course, she tends to beat around the bush, so-

Hikari- Terra, I forgot you were coming!

Terra- - as a result, her short attention span kicks in. Pay no attention to anything she says unless it was something she learned in school or off of her dad- they're the only true things.

Hikari- I'm a fairy, 'cause I can lick my elbow!

Terra- That is a worthy example of something that, while extremely entertaining and a good joke, is most definitely not true. She is not a fairy. However, she can lick her elbow, and that baffles me to no end- I've only ever met one other person who could do that.

Hikari- (makes some strange hand signs)

Terra- What do you mean that the gay priest wants to steal Hecksie-kun's pie? That's mean of him!

Hikari- No, I said that the gay priest wants to make me climb a tree so he can cross the bridge. I thought I taught you what the movements meant.

Terra- I forgot, so sue me.

Hikari- Okay. Uncle MAAAAARRRRRRK!

Terra- I meant figuratively, not literally. And doesn't your uncle Mark live in another state?

Hikari- Oh, yeah.

Terra- You know what? Let's just end here. It's been nice meeting you all, but Hii-chan has to get back to eating. She has this problem where if she doesn't eat for a while, she kind of... how can I say this? She pretty much kills people with her glare and bad temper. So she really needs to eat now.

Hikari- Hypoglycemic is the word, Terra. And bye, oh wonderful readers who I would so love to hear from!


	5. Ignorance

Okay, it took a really long time to just get this up- but hey, it's up! So read it, you lazybums!

PS: Review, 'kay?

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**Singing to the Wind**

Chapter5

_Ignorance_

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Four hundred and eighty-five years later, she was but a legend. A storytold by mothers to teach their children of good will. And they were well embellished, except for one village in a wooded valley. 

This village was the same that Hikari had started, and they alone knew the truth. They knew that her palace still stood on the mountain, albeit cloaked with invisibility. It had been pounded into them from birth that they were not to reveal that she still lived. Or that she was still only thirteen in appearance.

Hikari, while looking thirteen, sometimes acted as though she were seven instead. Always smiling, ever hungry, and almost scary in her level of daily cheer. She would insist that the ones who came over would play with her. The children always would, but the adults and any who realized the strangeness of the situation would politely decline. She never went through the village anymore, for obvious reasons.

There was the occasional outing however, with a disguise. She would often dress as a middle class worker, and she would always cover her hair completely. People tended to get suspicious of difference nowadays, with youkai roaming free, wild, and dangerous. If you had one distinguishing characteristic unlike anyone else, you were practically up for trial. Among these were included very light eyes, strangely colored hair, and curiously shaped birthmarks.

The particular town that Hikari was traveling to was more than seven leagues away from her forest. It had been ravaged by demons and bandits alike, and still the natives tried to persevere. Their number was extremely low, and they'd lost their monk and village healer in the last raid. Sick ones were dropping like flies in the intense summer heat. They were almost desperate for someone to come and help, but most other villages were too far away, and the prospect of trusting anyone but a miko left many of the residents more cautious than most. Though other villages did not know it, and the town itself would not acknowledge it, the place was paranoid.

Hikari, with some mild knowledge of herbs and healing remedies, told the leader that wounds should be covered with rock moss, and pointed out the chammomile growing in the grassy alleys of the town. There were few other things she could do for them but recommend.

On her way out, a horse that was eating oats decided that her head covering must have been hay, and figured it might as well eat that too. Her hair fell about her shoulders like a mahogany curtain. The townspeople stared, and a fatal word was uttered as digits pointed.

"Demon! We must kill the evildoer!"

She simply cocked her head. "Will you not tell me what crime I have committed? I don't like mystery," Was her apathetically posed answer.

The village leader stepped up. "You, with your hair the color of fire, cannot be human. It is clearly posted on the road into this town that no one of tainted blood may enter. You have violated this sacred law."

Hikari chuckled slightly. "If the taint of which you speak is hate, then I fear that you have broken your own rules."

The leader was speechless, so she continued, with a sigh. "I pity you, who have minds so narrow that you cannot discern between those who help and those who hinder. I suppose I shall leave now, seeing as neither I nor my advice is wanted here." She turned to leave, but a few men grabbed her. She was dragged up to the platform in the middle of the square, but she didn't fight. They stood her in front of the leader, who, for all his might, could barely stand up to this girl. And, if you've been reading, not surprisingly so. She does manage to become intimidating when the time calls for it.

"Of what type of beast are you," he asked. The shake in his voice was more than evident, it was downright obvious, and he was quickly losing authority, in the villagers' eyes.

Hikari gave a sly smirk. "I'm afraid that I can give you but one word, and at that, you may not know of the legends."

"Well?" The people were becoming increasingly impatient. They wanted to know if she was of any of the same type of demon as had attacked them.

"Wings," She spoke, and suddenly, they appeared out of her back. The wings nearly glowed in the light of day with their sheer white brilliance.

The villagers were all slack-jawed with awe, for her wingspan was easily twenty feet. They had never seen a being sprout such white, feathery wings, much less an evil one. Some dropped to their feet. The leader fell over backwards, scared out of his puny wits. Not hard very hard to, might I add.

"W-wh-what are you," he stuttered.

"I am light, and I must depart." Hikari then transformed into her phoenix form, and sped off into the sun.

She returned to her palace to find several of the children playing tag outside her doors. They seemed to be having so much fun, but they stopped when they saw her and were quick to embrace their matriarch (of sorts). She played with them until the sun hung low in the sky and told them to run along home.

After the children disappeared, Hikari made her way to the top of her mountain, where her mother's shrine stood. She sat on the stone bench in front of it, bowing her head.

"Hi mommy," she said. "I still miss you a lot. But you're here, and you'll always be. I love you."

Hikari looked towards the golden orb that was setting in the west, and then sighed. "It's getting harder, mommy. The world is turning cold. Even the summer is icy now. I'm scared. What if it never warms up? Every single person in the world will know nothing but apathy. That's why I'm afraid.

It almost happened today, mommy. They used to revere me, but now they do not know anything. Ignorance is never bliss. It was bad... when they insisted on making up false tales, but... I think that this might be... worse. I don't want to have to hide anymore, but with suspicions everywhere... they don't even consider if you're good! If you look different from them, they'd just as soon accuse you of something bad as if you actually were.

I want it to stop, mommy. I want to help them learn to know the difference between good and evil, and that there is so much gray. In fact, it shouldn't be called gray. Gray is so dull... let's use white and red! Then everything is pink! Or red and blue, 'cause then it's all purple!" Hikari's venting was helping, and her mind began to wander far off-course.

"Bye, mommy, I have to go and eat dinner now! I'll visit soon, I promise!" And she left, not noticing the large sapphire begin to glow, then chuckle softly.

"My dear girl... may you always be happy."

* * *

Hikari: I'm afraid I have no guest to entertain you, and I am sorry. So I will tell you about someone who isn't allowed on here beacuse he's too busy taking care of Saikyou. His name is Kensuke, and he is her older brother. The reason he can't come on is because Sai-sai and her younger sister are... let's just call them 'high maintenance'. Plus, he's like a housewife. A gay, male, housewife, who tends to crossdress while cooking. And he can't bear for his sisters to be unhappy on his watch. At school, they can be as depressed as tehy want, but the second they get home, it's both torture and bliss.

Pause

Hikari: I would also like to thank my only reviewer, Mr. ozma914. Thank you, Mark, for without you, I would be slightly less cheerful. I'd still be PMSing, though, so don't think you can cure that.


	6. Change Comes Slowly

This chapter is much shorter than I would really like, but do not worry- it gets a lot longer in the coming chapters. I'm currently in the process of writing chapter ten, which, so far, is the second longest chapter. The first longest is actually chapter eight or nine- I can't remember.

I am very sad that the stats for audience participation are still so low. You people who read this know I love to hear from you, so why don't you do it?

I also brought to my attention that there has not been a disclaimer in a while. Or at all, for that matter, and I would like to remedy that.

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any characters that were created by Rumiko Takahashi-san. I wish I did, but if wishes were horses, then there would be one girl I know who would totally flip, and I do mean that literally.

**

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**Singing to the Wind**

Chapter6

_Just Another Day

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_

--_She was on a battlefield, smothered in bodies. The land was covered in a dense fog that swirled away to reveal hidden corpses of newly mangled soldiers, each of them wearing either blue or gray trousers and buttoned shirts, with oddly shaped hats that had a brim only at the front. There were wheeled canons standing in wet mud and pools of blood, next to artificial lumps in the ground. There was a sword on the ground that had a golden, tasseled cord hanging from the hilt near the pommel. It was sticking up in the body of a man whose face was upturned for all to see. He was just barely alive, having been stuck with thesword in a nonfatal but crippling spot. The blood that was leaking out of him had pretty much stopped, but there was blood leaking inside him as well. After being in that position for over an hour, it was apparent that he would inevitably die. _

She walked toward him, and his eyes moved to behold her, though, in his final moments, his sight was hampered more than slightly. What he saw of her was a girl with fiery hair, tied into a single long braid that was brought around her shoulder. She was wearing a white dress with a high collar. If it weren't for the fact that she looked so young, he would have assumed that she was one of the medics. That and the fact that no one was there anymore.

She bent down and brushed a few strands of hair out of his eyes before speaking. "Your time has come, and I have arrived to take you to where you need to be," she said, her tone hushed and velvety soft. "Just close your eyes and let it all go. You will have no pain soon enough."

The man was compelled to do what she said, and he succumbed to her lulling voice as he let his soul exit his body.

She stood, watching the soldier's spirit glow and take leave of its shell. she held out her hand, and the effervescence traveled to the outstretched appendage, gathering in a glittering green ball of light. She pressed it to her chest and it merged into her being. Then, she spontaneously sprouted wings, and took flight, leaving the blood-soaked land behind.--

It was now morning, and Hikari awoke in her grand four-poster canopy bed. She drew back the curtain to find the gray sky streaked with hushed shades of delicate pink and blue. It was dawn. She got dressed and placed mental locks on every door before heading down the mountain. She felt like a stroll in the woods this morning.

In the woods, the creatures were beginning to stir. Birds were chirping their early morning songs happily in their nests. The bunnies started to frolic. This was what every morning should be like, Hikari thought.

All of a sudden, a small chickadee flew up and began to flutter about Hikari's head anxiously. Hikari held out her hand and the bird landed. It began to speak in a high-pitched, yet melodical voice.

"Please, mistress, one of my babies has fallen into the lake in the middle of the forest. Save him!" Then the bird dashed off, Hikari sprinting after her.

They reached the small lake (okay, so it was more of a pond, but who really cares?) and the baby bird was thrashing near the edge. He went under before they could get to him, but Hikari snatched him out. He wasn't breathing or moving, and Hikari could see his soul coming out of his body.

For reasons that she couldn't comprehend, she burst into tears, and as they fell onto minute feathers, the little hatchling glowed as his soul reentered his tiny body. And the mother bird was as surprised as Hikari. Did her tears have healing powers? And how was that? Why had she never known of it before? Many a question resembling these flitted around in her head like frightened butterflies. The oblivious little creature flew off back to his nest, and his mother followed.

Hikari sat there for a moment or two more. She glanced around at the trees, the lake, almost expecting to see something more than before. She figured, with a new discovery, would come a new vision of the world? No such thing. Everything still felt the same. She knew this place well enough to know that. The forest was still her home, and it would tell her of any new occurrences in itself. So far, all this pondering and changing was just with her.

It was even quite the irony, Hikari mused. She, who had looked like she had for hundreds of years, was changing more than those humans who lived for such a short time.

She stood. It was too early in the morning to be caught up in thought. She'd save it until sunset. Colors would do well to aide her wandering mind.

* * *

Hecks- Okay, what the hell am I doing here?

Hikari- Sorry, Hecksie-kun, but the rules state that there must be a guest character in the footnotes ofat least every other chapter.

Hecks- What rules.

Hikari-The ones in my head.

Hecks- You are nuts. Call me when you get admitted. Better yet, don't call me.

Hikari- All righty then!I would also like to apologize for the spelling error I had in the footnotes last chapter. I don't do that often. Misspell, that is.

Hecks- You don't have to apologize for it. I doubt half the people even noticed. It isn't like they read those things anyway. Why would they? Your 'footnotes' are crap, and people only want to read the story.

Hikari- You make me sad. But, so be it. Come, Patsy.

Hecks- Who's Patsy? Your imaginary friend? Or better yet, your psychiatrist?

Hikari- No, Patsy is the guy who comes around and throws people out of my fanfiction footnotes. Violently, might I add.

Hecks- Couldn't you just write me out?

Hikari- But what fun is there in that?

Patsy-(appears out of nowhere)You called?

Hikari- Yes, would you mind taking out the trash?

Patsy- Sure. Anything else?

Hikari- Yeah. Hecksie-kun insulted me.

Patsy- He needs to be taught a lesson. After I throw him out, that is. I'm thinking, advanced physics.

Hecks- (runs away, screaming like a girl) Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!


	7. Here comes The Sun

Hello again, ladies and gentlemen! I am back with another chapter!

I have made the interesting observation that each of my chapters has been getting progressively shorter. It's kind of weird, but it's not going to happen anymore, because this chapter is much much longer than any of the others. and the next three chapters after it are loner than the one before. I'm only on chapter ten, but it's already a lot longer than any I've written. I'm hoping that when I start on chapter eleven, it continues that wonderful pattern!

So, at any rate, I bring to you the next chapter. Read and review, please!

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**Singing to the Wind**

Chapter 7

_Here comes The Sun_

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Hikari began to walk due north, further away from the village. The trees grew closer together as the slope gradually increased. When it reached a gentle forty-five degrees, she knew that she was now at the base of the largest mountain, Mt. Inari. Its peak was topped with a generous snowcap, and the tree line stopped about three quarters of the way up. Past that there were only various bushes, shrubs, and a lot of grass. Not to mention rocks. Many, many rocks there were. All the trees on the mountain were very large, and would greatly aide in halting any possible avalanches that could occur. 

Unlike the other three or four mountains (you can't really count each peak as a mountain, now, can you?) that were pretty much surrounding the valley, there were no tunnels drilled into Mt. Inari for refuge. The villagers always feared becoming lost in the woods at this end, for they were indeed denser than the rest of the forest. Hikari placed a hand on a large maple, feeling the tree's life force pulse beneath her palm. Nothing had yet penetrated this area of weald. She hoped that nothing ever would.

A cloud moved across the sun, making everything dimmer for a few moments. Hikari faintly smelled rain to the... let's see... yes, it was the northeast. She jumped up into the levels of a taller tree to survey the land.

The cloud had several holes in it, and the sun was shining through in shafts of golden light. The clouds to the northeast, quite possibly a league or so away, were rain laden and beginning to release their fat droplets. To the south, in the village, the smoke coming out of the huts were seen as thin ribbons, dissipating into the air above. Hikari couldn't actually see the huts, for the trees were too tall to look over unless she was to go higher on the mountain.

Farther to the south, past the edge of the valley pass and the large river, the vast plains were disturbed by a small black dot. Judging by the distance, Hikari could guess that it was actually a good few yards across. She could just make out two rapidly moving specks, dashing back and forth at quite incredible speeds. They were jumping great distances, and every time they would meet, color would appear between them.

Hikari knew what they were. These were youkai lords, fighting over territory. They probably had swords and other weapons at their disposal, and one had made that burn mark on the plains. If it was deep enough, then the grass would not grow back at all, and there was a possbility that a family of voles or field mice had been harmed.

"Stupid childish pricks," she muttered. "Why couldn't they act like every other decent being in the known world, and just talk about it instead of coming to blows?" She took off and converted into her bird form to intervene. It should be noted that she was muttering about 'boys and their toys' the entire time in flight.

The two demons in question were the lords of the west and south. Lord Sesshomaru, Taiyoukai of the West, and the Great Lion Kazuma of the Southern plains. They were, as Hikari had thought, in a rivalry over land. As far as they knew, the center, the heart, of Japan had yet to be claimed for any lord, demon or otherwise. The lords of the north and east were rather... how can we say this... let's just say that they lacked intelligence. Both, while fierce in battle, didn't crave land. They could be told almost anything, and they'd believe it. A great flaw, indeed. If it weren't for their retainers and advisors, then they'd surely have been overthrown by now.

Their battle had only been underway for about an hour or so when something caught Sesshomaru's golden eye. He looked toward it, and gave his opponent the chance to land a blow. It wasn't anything, really, so the dog demon simply landed and swept at Kazuma with his destructive sword, Tokijin. Then they stopped fighting to look at a great bird, approaching rapidly. Its plumage was unlike any either demon had ever witnessed. Red, gold, and white, the bird was easily their size with its wings folded.

Though the bird was large, neither Sesshomaru nor Kazuma deemed it worthy of destruction. They assumed that it was harmless.

Big mistake, boys.

The vividly plumed animal landed on sharply clawed feet, feathered head cocked. Through its black as night eyes, both youkai got the impression that they were doing something they weren't supposed to. One could compare it to the feeling of being caught with a hand in the cookie jar. Kazuma actually cringed, reminded of his mother before he received a scolding.

Sesshomaru pointed Tokijin at the creature, addressing it directly. In his mind, that was quite the honor. "Entitle yourself, intruder. Why do you interrupt us?"

The winged one let out a melodical screech from its sun-kissed beak. Then it rolled its eyes, and spread its wings again. However, instead of taking off, leaves and blades of grass swirled upward in a reversed tornado of light. The creature was temporarily shielded from view.

When the twister subsided, the sight was ever the more confusing for both lords. Standing there was a girl. They had expected something more... poignant, if you will. And as it was, this... child... was hardly impressive at all.

"Boys and their toys..." the girl muttered. Sesshomaru cocked an eyebrow, noting that her clothing was very high ranking in appearance. White kimono, with pale blue and lavender blossoms. Her hair was down and well tended. He saw no signs of work in her hands. The first thought was that she was some rich demon lord's heir child, out for a walk. Her speech was most peculiar, however. The Taiyoukai had never heard such mutterings before.

"I will not repeat myself, girl. State your name and leave at once. Children shouldn't interfere in matters that are clearly for the  
adults." Even if she was a demon, she couldn't be more than twenty. Demons grew at almost the same rate as humans until adulthood, about thirty.

"My name," The girl looked him in the eye. "Is none of your concern. You shouldn't fight over what isn't yours to begin with."

Sesshomaru felt a twinge of anger inside him, and noticed that his rival of a few moments ago was also bristling.

"And why is it that you think this land isn't ours? No one has yet to claim it, you insolent whelp," Kazuma all but shouted. He lunged at her, growling, "You should have left when you had the chance, brat!"

As was to be expected if you have read the story, the lion never even reached her. He was slammed to the ground by an invisible fist, forced to eat dirt. The girl giggled. "Silly kitty," she said. She then turned to Sesshomaru, eyes large and blue and clearly amused. "Would the puppy like to dig for kibble?"

Sesshomaru growled. "You are quite the demon to take down such a powerful lord, and an imbecile to insult one even stronger. This Sesshomaru will not tolerate it." His sword at the ready, the inu youkai prepared to make mincemeat out of the small female. Preferably sooner rather than later. She really did not stay on his good side, assuming he even had one.

The girl scratched her head. "You're named Sesshomaru, huh? Well, I can't say I've ever heard of you, but it's nice to finally meet a youkai." She thrust out her hand cheerfully. When she didn't get a reaction, she withdrew the appendage. "Since you said your name, I'll say mine! I'm Hikari."

Blank stare from the tall one. "Are you the ruler of these lands?"

Hikari shook her head gently. "No. I just watch over my village. They barely even know I exist anymore, but I still look after them." She pointed over her shoulder at the dark green mountains in the distance. "That's where I live. It's really nice. The mountains keep the bad things away."

"I see," Sesshomaru commented, though he really didn't. She didn't appear antagonistic, or power-hungry, but she still stopped their fight. She could have let one kill the other, then go after him, but for all intensive purposes, she appeared to be a pacifist. "Did you think that I was trespassing on your land?"

Hikari smiled, and it was darker, or maybe just older, than before, but still very cheerful. "I didn't think you were trespassing. I just knew that you were fighting a pointless battle."

The silver haired lord lowered Tokijin ever so slightly. The girl was now just annoying him, not truly getting him angry. A definite plus. "You assume much for one who is so young. I gather that I am at least four times older than you."

Her eyebrows quirked. "Would you be willing to bet on that, Lord Sesshomaru?"

His patience frayed a little bit more, and tact was not his strong point. "You can't be much older than forty. You look too young."

Hikari threw back her head in laughter, plopping down into the grass, her legs crossed. Sesshomaru remembered a little tidbit from some stored away part of his mind about etiquette. He'd been taught, among other things, that no woman of privilege would ever do such a thing as sit in the grass. She was obviously not one who interacted with people of high status very often. "If I told you how old I was, you might make a face!" She toppled over, clutching her stomach, more laughter spouting from her mouth.

Sesshomaru felt a sweat drop appear on the back of his head. This... this... insolent girl was laughing- at HIM! He sheathed Tokijin and drew poison to his hand. It glowed a venomous green, which was quite fitting, actually, considering it was venom.

But as he lunged and thrust his hand where her throat would be, he found that she was no longer there. A finger poked him, and a voice squealed, "Tag! You're it." The girl, though claiming to be old, was very childish in manner. he swiped at her, or where she should have been, but only empty air greeted him.

Now she was really pissing him off. He glanced her out of the corner of his eye, and conjured his poison whip. As he turned, though, he saw a peculiar emotion in her eyes. She wasn't smiling. He stopped, taken completely off guard.

She was sad, he realized. Before he knew what was happening, his whip was gone and she was standing right in front of him. Her tiny hand was reaching up to his face, pity adorning her features. But if her appearance confused him, then he was totally unprepared for what she said.

"Don't worry, Fluffy dear, mommy will be home soon."

He recoiled from her touch slightly. His mother had said that to him, so many years ago, when he was still a pup, happy and bright-eyed and new to the world. She'd said those very words to him the day that she died. So to hear them spouted from the mouth of someone who was clearly not his mother was more than a bit of a shock. It also angered the old dog more than he would admit.

He jumped a safe distance away from Hikari in an attempt to keep his dignity. "Explain yourself, girl. This Sesshomaru has no time for your pitiful tricks."

Hikari seemed to snap out of a daze, and looked at him innocently. Sesshomaru could see that she was pulling it off, too. If he were at all gullible, he might have thought her expression to be sincere. "Tricks? But it isn't playtime yet." She thought a moment, then smiled. "Oh, you mean that trick. Well, just so you know, it isn't a trick. It's as real as I am."

'Which is how much,' he wondered. Sesshomaru's eyes hardened. "You try my patience, wench. Tell me what you're talking about."

The redhead looked up at the clouds a moment before again visually confronting his golden orbs by looking him in the eye. That was something that almost no one, save for the girl who traveled with his younger brother, had ever done. Well, gotten away with, at least.

"I read minds," she stated simply. "I am the master key to all the locks in your brains. It comes in handy when people can't- or won't- talk." More of a smirk followed.

A small twig snapping in the trees about a hundred yards to the west of Sesshomaru interrupted their conversation. Hikari's head snapped in that direction, eyes suddenly cold and piercing. Her hand shot out, and something burst into flames.

To Sesshomaru's continuing surprise (he hadn't thought that she could hear that well), she furrowed her brows and lowered her hand. Then she began to laugh once more.

Turning to him, she managed, "Your toad... just got... trampled- again. Might... want to get... him. Before he throws a fit."

"Jaken," the demon lord hissed, stalking in the direction of his servant. That little runt had a knack for getting trouble to include him in its games. And it never seemed to deter the imp from following Sesshomaru around like a lost puppy. How pitiful. Add to the fact that he was always acting so indamnably pretentious, and you have yourself there a mighty fine pain in the ass. The donkey too.

Halfway to the stand of trees, the Taiyoukai looked back, expecting to see a certain laughing smart-aleck. What he got instead was the retreating shadow of a very large bird. He shook his head and continued on.

"My lord!" Apparently, the imp was awake. Annoying as ever, too. "Who was that girl?"

"I don't know, Jaken."

* * *

Hikari- Hello!

Saikyou- Hi.

Hikari- Hi, Sai-sai! I am glad you're here!

Saikyou- Moi aussi!

Hikari- Je voudrais etre chat.

Saikyou- C'est tres interessant, n'est pas?

Hikari- Vraiment, ma soeur.

Saikyou- Je ne suis pas ta soeur.

Hikari- Pas encore, mais tu serais bientôt.

Saikyou- Ah, bien sur. J'ai oublie.

Hikari- Il est bien.

Kyoko- Est-ce que je peux joindre votre conversation?

Saikyou- I thought you said she wasn't allowed in here.

Hikari- I did. I don't know why she's here.

Kyoko- Je suis ici parce qu'il est tres amusante. Je peux etre aussi ennuyant que je veux ici.

Hikari- Well, that figures. Still, I could have sworn I banned you from my fanfiction.

Kyoko- Vous m'avez interdit de votre histoire de Buffy. Non celui-ci.

Saikyou- Well, you're banned from here too.

Kyoko- Vous ne pouvez pas faire cela.

Hikari- She may not, but I can.

Kyoko- Vous pas!

Hikari- Oh, but I would- and I am. Patsy!

Patsy- What is it?

Kyoko- Qui est-il? (Runs away, Patsy chasing her with a doorknob.)

Hikari- And that's that! No more Kyoko, in any of my fics! I put it in the clause!

Saikyou- What clause? You didn't write anything up.

Hikari- It is all on the doorknob, my dear Watson.

Saikyou- Your genius is kind of nuts sometimes.

Hikari- Je sais, ma soeur, je sais.


	8. Seeing Double

Today is the day that I finally realize that I can do the work for my chapters at home. And let me tell you, it rocks.

Oh, and to ShadeSpirit, I hope you have noticed that there are the characters from the show in here. I'd already had it in, it was just in the chapters after you had asked me that. I intend on bringing almost everybody into the mix, but it's like putting some hot liquid into beaten eggs- you have to do it slowly, or they'll curdle. And goodness knows that's no good. Believe me, I've curdled eggs before, trying to make hollondaise. According to my mother, I didn't stir it enough. But back to the point. I just don't want my story to curdle at all. So I'm makin' it slow.

Now, read, you lazybums with nothing better to do than read what other lazybums like me put up on this site! I apologize if this strikes offense to anyone, I am merely being comical, in my eyes.

Saikyou- She just has a really weird sense of humor.

Hi, Sai-sai!

Saikyou- Hi to you too.

Now, read!

Saikyou- Okay, I will.

Not you! I meant the readers.

Saikyou- Oh. 'Kay, then

* * *

**Singing to the Wind**

Chapter 8

_Living in the Dream World _

* * *

The day had been more than a bit eventful, now that she thought about it, on the flight home. When Hikari touched down on the cliff, she was hit with a wave of pure exhaustion, for whatever reason. She managed to stumble into her bedroom and flop onto the mattress before dozing off. 

-- _It was dark where she was. Nothing could be completely made out, but it almost seemed like a forest to her eyes. Impossibly old, yes, but still a forest, nonetheless. Instead of being clad in her usual kimono, she found she was wearing a white dress with red ribbons that were tied in crisscross patterns on her waist and above her elbows, then dangled down gracefully in small bows with long ends._

_A twig snapped, and she spun. No one was there. She peered further, but the darkness would not yield to her pressing eyes, and for some reason, she didn't conjure a fireball to light her way. It was as though the darkness wouldn't let her break it's strong hold on her._

_A sudden feeling of urgency and apprehension clouded her judgment, and where she would have stood her ground and protected herself, she ran instead. She kept glancing behind her, as if some terrible enemy were chasing her through the shadowy trees. She darted back and forth, attempting to lose her invisible foe._

_Eventually, she ran into a hollowed out shell of a tree and pressed herself to the inside of what was once a thick trunk. She slid to the ground, breathing so heavily she was almost panting. The terror of it all was almost overwhelming to her._

_Abruptly, a figure blocked what little light came into the hollow. She stood, and tried to back away from the person-or thing- that had unexpectedly appeared. Of course, being on the inside of a fairly cylindrical enclosure, she couldn't get very far. All she managed to do was get opposite the doorway, which just made it easier for the intruder to see her._

_The figure, male in gender, advanced. He took hold of her arms near the shoulder. His hands hurt, as if they were burning her to the bone, a terrible aching pain. He then brought his head down to whisper in her ear. _

_However, when he opened his mouth, all that came forth was the loud, harsh, buzzing of many insects._--

Hikari bolted upright, her breathing hard and fast. The dream had felt as real as any experience she'd had in her life, but it seemed unreal in nature. That was, of course, discounting the odd and dreadful buzzing. That couldn't possibly be an actual occurrence. In fact, it was already fading from her mind, as fast as such things normally did.

She looked to the window, noting that the sun was still very high in the sky. She'd probably slept less than an hour. There was still some playtime left in the day.

The diminutive girl leapt off of the bed and skidded on the floor in her rush to the door. She dashed down the hallway, heading for a large wooden staircase, clambering up that as well. It went up and up and up until one would think it couldn't go any further. But it finally stopped at a landing. On that landing had been placed, many years ago, a large, cushioned, high backed armchair in a plush velvet that was a peculiar shade of blue. So blue, in fact, that it was almost black. Sitting in front of it was placed an equally soft navy hued ottoman- a footrest, if you will. There was also a knee-level wooden table, and an end table with a corded lamp sitting upon it resting next to the chair. Against the wall was a single floor-to-ceiling bookcase. If anybody looked at it, they would think that the person had high expectations, but little motivation, for the bookshelves were sparse in their possession of any tomes.

This was Hikari's reading room. The staircase leading up to it got darker the closer it came to the top, giving anyone at the bottom the impression of great height. The ceiling, however, was painted as the sky on a day when the clouds are large and puffy. It was in such detail that one would see that there appeared to be actual rays of light coming from the parting of the clouds.

Hikari sat in the chair and stared at the ceiling. She closed her eyes, a soft smile on her face. This was the place she could think, the place where no one could find her. In theory, that is. She just didn't expect to be found here.

Breathing deeply, she let out a sigh. The day had been tiring, to say the least. Saving that baby bird, surveying, interrupting a fight between two very important people, and now the dream...

"I'd say you've had a pretty interesting day, wouldn't you agree?" Hikari jumped out of her comfortable position in her chair to be greeted by... well, herself. Sitting on the landing railing, looking rather bold and learned.

She opened her mouth, and something a bit more than a squeak came out. "You're me."

The other her raised her shoulders. "If that's the way you want to put it, go right on ahead. But the thing is, while I am you, I'm just a reflection of you. I could never be the real thing, I'm just here to give you some company, someone to talk to."

Hikari thought a moment, then replied. "But how can I talk to you if you know everything I do? Isn't that being a bit pointlessly redundant?"

The one on the railing smiled brighter. "Big words for a girl so small." she hopped down from the banister and leaned against it in a cocky sort of pose. "You never grew up. That's why you look like you do. And since you have a mind too young to try and figure everything out yourself, I'm here to answer questions. So ask."

Hikari tucked her legs under her again, settling back into the pillowed chair. "What are my dreams of? They make me more confused than I am when I fall asleep. And I get pretty confused."

The other girl laughed softly. Unlike her more childish counterpart, her laughter was deeper, with more of a cloudy resonance, whereas the real Hikari had laughter the rang through the halls like a cello concerto. "I know, believe me, I know. But I honestly have very few ideas of where the dreams come from."

Hikari scrunched up her eyes and shook her head. "I didn't ask where they _came from_, I asked what they were of."

The clone nodded. "Oh. Well, I suppose that they are just of other places, other times. You could even be reading other people's minds in your sleep, though I highly doubt it. Your dreams aren't vague, or misplaced, and the things in them are completely straightforward. All in all, you seem to be dreaming in some sort of pattern, but I have no idea what it is."

"Don't you think that they seem to be getting closer somehow," Hikari posed. "The first one was distant, and I couldn't feel so much. The second was a bit more real, and I could understand it better. The one I had a little while ago was confusing, but I felt like I was actually there, not just doing something for no reason."

The copy crossed her arms, looking thoughtful. "You're right. It's entirely possible that you could be dreaming of different lives that you lived, or, more likely considering what was in them, lives that you will live." She moved from her spot by the stairs to sitting on the ottoman, looking directly into Hikari's eyes. "For now, though, until you can figure all this out by yourself, I'll come from time to time. When you feel the need to think things over. Just stay out of trouble until then, okay? We don't want that last dream to turn out to mean something really bad, and not be able to guard against it, now, do we?"

Hikari beamed and shook her head vigorously. "Nope!"

Her counterpart stood once more. "I suppose I should leave now. Unless you have any more questions, that is."

Hikari looked up, head tilted. "Just one... Is you coming out another power of mine?"

The duplicate shrugged. "It could be another power, or you could be going crazy. It doesn't make much of a difference to me."

Hikari looked down, staring at the folds of her kimono, spattered with lavender and powder blue blossoms. "Well, goodbye then. I hope you'll come to play with me soon." As she looked up, she noticed that her double was already gone. "Aww, nuts," she grumbled. "She barely even said bye to me. Not like she really needs to, though." She slumped into the chair, suddenly very bored. Should she read, or draw, or go outside? Oh, the choices were many and varied. "I think I'll go out. It's probably right around lunchtime in the village right now! I think I'll visit and watch them eat!" With that, she jumped up and hopped on the curving railing that lead all the way down the stairs. Naturally, she chose to slide down the length of it, it being a smooth surface and Hikari being of the mental age of a ten-year-old. Her cries of delight resounded throughout the halls, reverberating off of all the rice paper doorways and stucco walls.

A few minutes later, after Hikari had changed into her plain worker clothes, covered her hair, and smudged some dirt on her face, she was on the road to the village with a basket of apples for sale. Since she had extricated herself from the village, she'd established a different sort of history with them, often visiting to 'sell' things at the market. Her latest ruse was that she lived with her grandmother in a hut just on the other side of the smallest mountain, a little ways out of the valley. The village people were a very trustworthy bunch, and accepted her as soon as she'd acquainted herself with the current head priest.

Walking into the village, she was greeted by three children, who often said hello to incoming travelers, thought they were few and far between. The kids, two twin girls and an older boy, nearly trampled Hikari with her green cabbages.

The first girl, Koki, took pride as she showed Hikari her newly lost tooth. her twin, Roki, rolled her eyes. Apparently, she'd already lost her corresponding tooth, and to her, her sister being proud of losing it was childish. But, when asked if anything was new with her, Roki immediately showed her a scar from when she had fallen while playing tag. Both of the girls were six, and still greatly looked up to Hikari, admiring that she lived almost all by herself.

Masuka, the boy, was upwards of ten, and quickly approaching Hikari's height. When Hikari asked him what was new in his life as she strolled to the market, he replied with a nonchalant shrug, and stated that he'd ended school, and that his parents wanted to engage him to a local village girl. Masuka had always been a boy with a mind far beyond his age, and Hikari knew that he'd loved being in school.

"Having to end school must be hard for you," she commented. "I know how much you loved it." Silence. Hikari figured, at this point, it would be a wise time to change the subject. "Well, then, you're nearly as tall as me now, aren't you? Soon you'll be taller than your mother, I suppose."

Masuka looked at her quizzically. "Why is it that I have known you for near two years, and you haven't grown any? My friend's sister is about your age, and she grew lots last year."

Hikari tensed, not knowing how to answer such a question. If she gave a reply that insinuated something, then yet another secret would be revealed, and she would once again have to leave the village alone for a long while. It would take about sixty or so years for everybody she'd met to die. Too long. Avoiding it was always a good policy.

"I suppose," she started, "That I have finished growing for my lifetime. Not everybody can be as tall as they like. Some have to make up the ranks of the vertically challenged, you know." Masuka laughed. She had successfully averted a small disaster.

The rest of her visit went fairly pleasantly. She sold off the apples, which were quite the hot item, there not being many serviceable apple trees in the valley. The villagers all said hello, or started lively conversations with her, asking about her grandmother. Once all the fruit was gone, she bid the people farewell, and headed off.

After traveling up a slope to a small peak entitled 'Kitsune Tail', she changed back into her normal clothes. Now was time to simply play. She ran through the trees, calling to any animal that would listen to join in her games. A fawn and several rabbits came and frolicked about her, small sparrows then coming to flit about, chirping happily. This was what she lived for, to see the people happy, and then to see that the animals were equally happy.

Kitsune Tail was a unique peak, not only in shape, but in the fact that it was quite hollow. There was a hole near the tip of the peak that was near covered by vines and ferns. Once one got inside, however, it was apparent that it was not the only hole, for there were shafts of light everywhere. All the other holes were simply too small and far too densely protected by all that underbrush to slip through.

Hikari had long ago dug some ledges that resembled stairs into the dirt inside the peak so that she could climb in and out without struggling or the need to fly. At the bottom of the hollow, there was some grass that needed barely any light to survive. It provided a soft cushion on which Hikari could sit and watch the wind cause the light to shift.

As she settled on the grass and moss, Hikari noted that something about the place was different. As though someone had been there in her absence. That was highly unlikely, though. No one else knew that this place existed, and she had never known any of the villagers of its location.

She suddenly felt the sensation that someone was whispering incoherent words into her ear, and turned to the wall that was situated to her left. This was where something was wrong, for sure. She grabbed a stick lying on the ground and carved out an area, about one foot square. Then she chipped away at it, to reveal a very curious object.

She stared at it a moment, completely in a fog as to what it really was.

* * *

Hikari- Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Yes, it is a cliffhanger, but I felt it was- not necesssary, per say, but I thought it would be nice for a change of pace. The story has been kind of focusing on the one day, and everything seems to be happening in that one day, so what's a cliffhanger or two, I figure? Later on, the story will break up a little, and I'm giving you a heads up, so no one comes to me and wonders where all the words went. 

Hikari- As I was reading through it again, I saw the words 'village people' and I cracked up. Not that I'd intended for those words to mean that, but it was funny.

Please review!


	9. Pack Animals

And now present the next installment of my story!

Did you people find the variety of the 'hiding places in the story to be interesting? I just thought that a person should have lots of places in which to sit and not be bothered. Goodness knows I'd love to have a few places like that. Just to be in a place that no one could find me is my idea of paradise. Until I get hungry, that is, because it is totally impossible for me to enjoy something if I feel hungry. Partially because I'm hypoglycemic, and partially because I have the attention span of a five-year-old. There may be other contributors, but I have yet to identify them at the moment.

When you have finished reading, please review!

* * *

**Singing to the Wind**  


Chapter 9

_Pack Animals_

* * *

It was a mask. An animal mask, to be exact. Hikari had never seen such an animal, so in reality, she shouldn't have been able to identify it. However, since part of her mind was inexplicably trained on the future, she quickly came to a conclusion. 

"What's a monkey mask doing in the middle of a mountain peak? Monkeys don't live anywhere near here."

As she mused to herself, she began to notice that the wind outside was picking up, and the light was flickering with an ever-growing speed as the plants on the peak swayed in the air currents.

Hikari's head snapped up, suddenly knowing that someone- or quite possibly something- was coming towards her hideaway. At a speed no normal thing should be able to achieve. Normal meaning human, of course. She had no idea what a youkai would be able to do, having had so little contact with them.

As unexpectedly as the wind had come, it dissipated, leaving the fiery-haired girl dazed and confused. She stood quietly, facing the hollow's entry with an expression that most modern day adults would find eerie, her eyes wide and solemn.

A figure with black hair, piercing blue eyes, and a furry headband poked his head through the hole. "Naraku," he growled, then took notice of Hikari. "So we meet again."

The girl cocked her head and quirked and eyebrow. "I've never met you," she answered simply, without quipping. Somehow, that didn't seem to appease the intruder. He, in the blink of an eye, slipped into the hollow, down the steps, and to where Hikari was standing, picking her up by the throat and holding her against the wall. Hikari being Hikari, of course, she responded to that maneuver by giggling. "That tickles!"

She should have figured that the demon holding her up wasn't amused. He only seemed to growl louder. "I have waited so long for this, Naraku. For the chance to kill you. Your pitiful wind witch killed many of my tribe, and now I will kill you!" He reared back his hand, grinning devilishly. "Any last words? I'd hate to have to not let you have a say in your own death, you despicable bastard," he said.

She looked at his furs, and something seemed to click in her head. "You're a wolfie, aren't you? We had a wolf in the forest once, but I caught him trying to hurt one of my rabbits, so I'm afraid I kind of singed his tail. I really didn't mean to, but Annabelle was so scared, so I kind of stopped thinking, and honestly, do you not have a nose, wolfie-boy?" That last string of speech had taken on a rather indignant tone of voice.

The demon appeared more than slightly puzzled at the multitude of words that had just spouted forth from her mouth, and hesitated. The gears in his head began to crank at last, and he cautiously formed a reply. "Are you sure you're not Naraku? How do I know you aren't one of his incarnations, luring me away, or perhaps another form of his?"

Hikari sighed. It was going to take more than a simple claim of innocence to convince this one. Maybe some random words would help the situation. "Purple pansies hate big boots," she chirped, as a way of telling the wolf that she wasn't lying at all. "From what you keep saying about that Naraku guy, I think he wouldn't say something like that. Or one of his flowers."

The demon blanched. "Incarnations," he muttered.

Hikari nodded, prying his hand away from her small neck. "Right, his flowers. Or does 'incarnation' mean something else? It's so hard to tell these days," she sighed once again.

At that point, the demon's clutch on her throat loosened enough for her to plop back down to the ground on her nimble feet. However, he was still wary. "Who are you, if not Naraku or one of his acolytes?"

Hikari smiled brightly up at him. "I'm Hikari. I live here. Well, not here exactly, I live on a nearby mountain. This is one of my playing spots. All of these mountains are my home, actually. There's a valley in which a small village lives." Her statements, while slightly nonsequitor, still made enough sense to the demon.

"I'm Kouga," the wolf stated unceremoniously. "I belong to the wolf demon tribe of the west. And if you aren't associated with Naraku, why can I smell him?"

Hikari sniffed her kimono sleeve, then scrunched up her face in obvious confusion. "Pardon," she asked. She certainly couldn't smell anything out of the ordinary.

"I smell him here. Him and his evil scent follow me wherever I go."

The redhead bit her lip while thinking. Then, it was as if a light bulb went on in her head. She turned around and picked something up. "Could it be this? I found it just before you got here." She held up the monkey mask for Kouga to see. It was mostly nondescript, with a gray face, and white fur around the face, it had two tiny triangular ears up on the top. The nose was long and had two large nostrils at the end of it. Kouga took it from her hands.

He sniffed, and then put his hand to his nose. "That's it all right. It reeks of him, which is probably why I was drawn to it. Why was it here?"

Hikari shrugged. "Like I'd know. I was just sitting here when I noticed something was different, so I dug, and that's what I found. I think someone may have come by and put it there while I was in the village. Sneaky stupid-head." She was surprised when Kouga didn't laugh. Most people found comments like that to be funny. But Kouga was concentrating on the mask.

"Dammit," he cursed, "I can't tell how long it's been since Naraku left this here. It's almost like he saturated it with his smell." He turned to her, holding out the mask again. "I have no further use for it."

The well-dressed young girl took it and studied it for a few moments, a far-off look on her face. "It's only been here an hour, but he's already long gone. He went back home after planting the mask."

This time it was Kouga's turn to be disbelieving. "How did you know that," he questioned.

She looked up at him. "The moth told me." Hikari pointed to a small moth on the cavern wall that Kouga could just barely see. "It said that there were bad waspy things with the man all in fur, and that he was talking to himself. I get the feeling like Naraku does that a lot."

Kouga tilted his head. "You talk to insects?"

Hikari became very scientific. "No, not at all. I communicate with almost every animal I've met, not just insects. They all have very interesting things to say, you know."

The demon turned away, looking to the entrance. "Doesn't matter, it's still creepy. We should get out of here. I don't like it in such tight spaces." He then proceeded to climb up the makeshift steps and out of the hole, Hikari following him.

They got outside, and Kouga stretched. He'd been rather cramped in the cavern, unlike his newfound companion, who was just small enough for it to be comfortable. He noticed after a few seconds that Hikari was looking out into the trees, and he sniffed the air.

"Don't worry," he said, "It's just Ginta and Hakkaku. They tend to be rather slow, and I often lose them when I'm chasing something. Of course, I travel in a twister, so I can hardly expect anything else."

Sure enough, a small time later, two other wolf demons trotted dejectedly out of the woods, breathing hard. The first one, a fellow with a blondish mohawk, pointed at Kouga and wheezed, "Kouga, you need to stop purposefully losing us like that!"

"Yeah," joined in the other, who had a black forelock in otherwise light gray hair. "What happens if something happens to you! We wouldn't get there in time, and you might die!"

Kouga smacked that one in the head. "Don't be stupid, Ginta, I'll fare better than you in any fight. And you, Hakkaku," He now turned to the other one now, "You'd do well to remember that too."

Both wolves whimpered under their leader's steely glare. Until, that is, their leader was suddenly on the ground, with a sizable lump forming on the back of his head. Then they finally took into consideration the young-looking girl dressed in a fairly noble kimono. They looked from her to Kouga, then back again, not knowing how to react. They hadn't seen anything touch the alpha wolf, yet he was on the ground, having been bonked hard on his skull.

"Hi," said the girl. "I'm Hikari. You can call my Hii-chan. He really shouldn't talk to you guys like that, should he?"

Abruptly, Kouga was up and angry again. "What do you care? Their part of MY pack, not yours! You aren't even a wolf, so stop telling us what to do!" he then spun around and crossed his arms in indignation. "Stupid wench," was added to the mix of insults. Which, of course, provoked an unexpected response from Hikari.

Kouga smelled salt, and turned back to see that she was sniffling. He hadn't wanted to make her cry. he had entirely expected her to just bop him on the head again, or storm off into the trees, but crying? Definitely not one of the top ten responses he was going for. It was possible that he would never become used to the girl's sudden mood swings.

"Now look what you did," muttered Hakkaku. "You made her cry 'cause you yelled at her. She's just a girl, even if she isn't human or one of us."

Kouga shot the two a warning glare, then refocused his attention to Hikari. "No, please don't cry," he tried, putting his hands on her shoulders and lowering himself until his eyes were on a level with hers. "Really, don't cry, please. I hate crying." Naturally, that worked about as well as a twig can hold up a boulder. Meaning, not at all. Hikari kept on sobbing in a hysterical way.

Now Ginta had two cents to put in. "Try apologizing. Maybe that'll help."

The wolf tribe leader once again glared at his subordinate. "You expect me to apologize? I don't do apologies!" This comment just seemed to make the girl cry even harder, so Kouga made the wise decision to swallow his pride for once. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Just, please! Don't cry. I'm sorry I hurt your feelings." Then he pulled her to him, giving her an inexperienced and slightly awkward hug. While doing this, he failed to see that Ginta and Hakkaku were trying to get his attention about something. Not that him noticing would have help at all...

WHACK! He was smacked over the head again, and started seeing stars, with little chirping birds flying around his head. Hikari stood there with a giant hammer, smiling happily.

"Serves you right! You shouldn't make little girls cry," she pronounced energetically. She was even bouncng around a little bit, too.

"Why you little," Kouga growled from his position in the grass. He got up as fast as he could (which is pretty fast, mind you), and began chasing Hikari around the clearing, her giggling all the way. "Get back here! I'll get you," he yelled.

Ginta looked to Hakkaku. "Do you get the feeling like Kouga may just have met his match?"

The other wolf nodded. "Hii-chan seems to be the perfect person to keep Kouga in check. Other than Kagome and Ayame onee-chan, she has the most energy I've ever seen." He thought for a moment, then added, "Scratch that, actually. She IS the most energetic girl I've met."

Ginta concurred. "I'd have to go with you on that one." A moment of light silence followed.

Hakkaku perked up at a random thought. "Two fish says that she comes out, mock crying again."

His friend smirked. "No way. She's gonna be dragging his ass out of the forest for sure."

"So it's a bet?"

"Heck yes!" They shook on it. Neither one of them thought about the fact that they were kind of insulting their leader. They were too wrapped up in the prospect of fish. Yum.

Three minutes later, Ginta won the bet, as Hikari skipped out of the trees, a ground bound Kouga being clutched by the tail. It was apparent that he was mostly unconsious, judging by the way the grass stains were accumulating on his face. And by the way that he wasn't making the least attempt to get out of the situation.

"Just take him home," she said. "I think he's had enough fun for today, don't you?" Neither wolf answered, so she took it as a yes when the mohawk one- or, rather, Hakkaku- slung Kouga on his back. Before they could run away, however, she posed a question. "Can I come with you? I mean, you probably live near, and I think it would be a better idea for me to come along, since Kouga is kind of not in the mood to fight, right now."

The idea seemed reasonable enough to them. "Sure, Hii-chan," Ginta chirruped. He liked Hikari's company already. She seemed to be one of those characters that were helpful to a fault, but would certainly be of use in a fight. She was an easygoing person, and very amiable, that was plain to see. Ginta was sure that any other member of the wolf demon tribe would most definitely agree with him.

Now that he thought about it, he realized that Hikari was very much like Kagome onee-chan with her personality. Happy, caring, and a fierce defender. He probably shouldn't tell Kouga that, though. He'd get annoyed for no apparent reason, and most likely it would come to blows.

Within the hour, they made it back to the caves, which were just east enough to not be in the lands of Lord Sesshomaru, though Hikari didn't really realize it. She'd pretty much forgotten about him, though she'd met him only that day. She was a girl of many words and little attention span, you see. As another way of saying it, everything she heard went in one ear, and out the other. If she was lucky, her brain would photocopy it, but it'd be stored in some dusty corner of her mind until the time came for it to be used. Much later, for sure.

The group was immediately greeted by a handful of wolves and several small demon cubs. Seeing that Ginta and Hakkaku weren't threatened by Hikari's presence, they all welcomed the newcomer. A wolf cub licked her hand, then got down, with his tail wagging high up in the air. He obviously wanted to play.

"Okay, little one, I'll play," Hikari cooed. She conjured a ball, which startled all the adults, both canine and demonic, but the children thought it was cool. She threw the ball past the small cub, and giggled in delight as she saw six others join in the chase. "Kawaii," she sighed. The little ones were always so unbearably cute and adorable.

"Who are you," said a sharp voice. Hikari spun to see a wolf girl, taller than her, with hair just as red, tied up into pigtails, and complimented by emerald orbs. She was wearing a chest plate similar to Kouga, but had white fur and accenting instead of brown. She also wore a white cape. And a very distrusting look upon her face. For which Hikari could find no definite cause. She hadn't done anything to make anyone hate her here.

"I won't ask again," the girl snapped. Hikari stared up at her, with wide eyes and an innocent look, while probing into the demoness's mind. Then she outright grinned.

"I'm Hikari. I live a ways east, in a valley that is between several large mountains. I was born twice, my hair color is three shades darker than yours, I have blue eyes, and I like to eat and sing. Is that enough information?" Needless to say, the other redhead was struck rather speechless. This girl, Hikari, had told her both of the things she'd wanted to know, and some things she never would have thought to ask of. Most people who did that were either being fresh or being stupid. It was possible that this girl was being a combination of the both. Not unheard of in the world.

"I suppose that's enough," the demoness mumbled, trying to cover. "I'm Ayame, by the way. I'm the wolf princess from the northern tribe. And Kouga's fiancee." She almost expected Hikari to be at least surprised, but all that was evident was intrigue on the small girl's face.

"Well, I haven't known him for that long, so I wouldn't really know if he would be engaged or not. I only met him a little over an hour ago. He found my hiding space, you see," she explained, as if that would answer any questions.

Ayame led Hikari over to a bench that was carved into the rock face. It was smooth and gray, with no embellishments. "Why was he there? In your hiding place, I mean."

Hikari stared after the children and the cubs, wistfully smiling. "Some weird evil dude named Naraku left a monkey mask in there, and Kouga said he smelled it. He thought I was Naraku at first."

Ayame caught her breath. "Wait- Naraku? He was near your home? He practically sets you up to get killed, and all you can say about him was that he's 'some weird evil dude,' who left a mask in your hiding place? Don't you know how dangerous he is?"

Hikari shrugged, looking right into Ayame's eyes. "I don't know him enough to hate him, although when Kouga was threatening me, he said that Naraku had killed half his tribe, I just can't help it. I need to see and hear a person speak before I can really despise them. It's the way I am."

Ayame snorted softly. "Well, you're a lot more generous than I am. If Kouga would let me go on his missions, then I'd surely tear the bastard to pieces." Her voice was filled with unexpressed anger and hate.

The smaller girl looked away again. "As soon as I meet him, I might just do the same." Her words lacked the fervor of the wolf princess.

Hikari's new companion studied her closely, marveling at how she could act so old and look so young. Then, another question came to mind.

"How old are you," she asked.

Hikari turned back to Ayame and grinned wholeheartedly. "Four hundred and ninety-seven, give a few months."

Ayame laughed. "No, really," she pleaded, "How old."

The more childish female among the two nodded. "Really? Four hundred and ninety-seven, give a few months."

The wolf's jaw dropped impossibly. "But... You look so... little," she staggered.

Hikari simply shrugged. "It's the way I am. I haven't grown since I was twelve."

Ayame looked away, totally stunned. "Nobody in the pack is anywhere near that age. My grandpa was, but he isn't alive anymore."

The other girl looked to the ground. "Sorry to hear that." Her voice was very sincere. She turned her head to the sky. "What's a pack," she asked suddenly.

The question very much took the wolf off guard. "It's what wolves travel in. Or, rather, it's a group."

Hikari smiled. "A pack of wolves." she giggled once, then said to herself. "I'd never be able to travel in a pack."

Ayame scrunched her nose. "Why not?"

Blue eyes glinted. "Wolves can't fly."

* * *

Hikari- Ah, another wonderful cliffhanger. I probably won't continue with the same day, because it's getting a little too packed for me. I think any more would cause a timeline confusion. But don't worry, You'll know how much later the story continues on. And the next chapter is seriously lengthy. And still going. It'll be a while before I'm able to post it. In the meantime, enjoy this public service announcement. 

Commercial man- Have you been feeling depressed lately? Are you down on your luck? Then you need-

Hikari- Whoops, that was the commercial channel. I'll put it on the actual announcement.

Man- Every year, almost all the people on the face of the earth will experience a severe and sometimes crippling occurance. A thing that could kill you, if it happens at the wrong time. A thing called-

Hikari- What is it, random man?

Man- Stupidity.

Hikari- Aah! Noo! Not stupidity!

Man- Do not fear, gentle people of America. While there is no cure, you can still prevent stupidity. Just use these steps.

Hikari- What are they?

Man- One- whenever you witness stupidity, the best policy is bringing it to everybody's attention. You can do this by either asking if the person suspected to be inflicted actually did the thing you think you saw them do. This will make everybody think about what they saw. And then, they will likely not follow in the person's example. You could also say that the person committing the 'stupid' act is in fact, 'stupid'. Many will agree, and the stupidity will be halted.

Hikari- What else can I do?

Man- The second action would be to partake in an action called 'video gaming'. It is a cleverly disguised activity that leads all others to believe you are wasting away brain cells, when you are, in fact, honing your reflexes. Some of the better games are ones that require quick thinking, and ones that you can't pause in the middle of something. Games such as Dance Dance Revolution (there are seven versions of this- I suggest Max 2 or Extreme.) or Pong. Sometimes, the oldies are the best ones. These will sharpen reaction time, preventing moments of 'stupidity'.

Hikari- Thank goodness- I have DDR!

Man- However, if you stay up all night, doing these, then the likelihood that you will do something 'stupid' actually increases. Lack of sleep causes deep exhaustion, which can lead to a judgement lapse, and eventually to 'stupidity'. So eat right, get plenty of sleep, game, and criticize, my friends, procrastinate as much as possible. Others may view you as cynical, but you will be preventing stupidity from spreading.

Hikari- Well, that makes me feel much better. I can now prevent it from passing on to me!

Random person in background- Are you talking to youself? That's not healthy.

Hikari- No, you idiot, I'm talking to my audience! Learn to tell the difference! You are undoubtedly stupid!

Randon person in background- Um... ok. I'll be going now.

Hikari- Bye, then! Please review!


	10. Journey

Hello there! This is most definitely my longest chapter yet, and I love it. I kept writing and writing. I couldn't seem to stop with it. The chapter just never seemed done. But now, it is, and I am putting it up here. It's going to add a huge chunk of words to the story. I also hope it will help me to lengthen my other chapters that will follow. I've had trouble with that in the past. However, since I'm putting it up so close (the same day, in fact) as the ninth chapter, there probably won't be a chapter update for a few weeks. I'm still in the beginning of chapter twelve. I don't want to post eleven until it's done.

Oh yeah, there hasn't been a disclaimer since... chapter seven, I think. I should put one in now.

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the pre-existing characters that are in Inuyasha. I only own what people I make up from my own imagination. If I buy everything, then I would own it, but I lack the funds and the necessary language skill for that. So I must settle for borrowing Takahashi-san's show and characters. They rock.

Read and review, as always!

**

* * *

Singing to the Wind**  


Chapter 10

_Journey_

* * *

Two weeks passed, and Hikari found herself missing the wolves and their cubs terribly. She could be more open with them than she could with any human she'd ever met. It made her feel more welcome among something other than her own devices. Talking to herself got rather tiresome when she'd been doing it for a few hours. Add to that the fact that she always knew how she would answer. 

At the moment, Hikari was sitting in the tower alcove, staring at the pages of a book. She just didn't seem to be able to absorb the words. Her mind felt slow today, she supposed was the reason.

Out of nowhere, she began to hum a tune. It was eerily soft, and rather ethereal in nature. It floated above the rafters, winding its way down the stairs to carry quietly through the halls. There were no words to the nameless song that Hikari knew of. She'd never even been taught any tunes as a small girl, or her entire life, for that matter. It seemed odd that she would suddenly know one, but there it was, drifting off of her tongue and catching anyone's ear that it could reach.

Abruptly, the aria ended, still echoing over the walls.

"That was pretty," Hikari commented. At that moment, as she often did, she looked out the window. Outside, summer was drawing to a close. Early-blooming flowers were losing their petals, while the later ones barely had buds yet.

By the look of things, winter was fast approaching, and with it, dangerous storms would pester the mountains, but leave the valley with nothing but a good layer of snow. It was one of the good things about living between several high mountains. Storms got blocked or weakened, and you didn't have to worry so much about invasion. It wasn't as though anyone could get in all that easily, much less an entire army.

The only true way for a human to leave the valley was by following the way of the river, and out through a narrow and winding pass. Past that, there was a very large waterfall, and a cliff surrounding it. It one wanted to get down and out without hurting themselves, they would have to go down a thin outcropping of the cliff, and behind the enormous veil of rushing water. There were many small ledges that could be classified as stairs there.

After the hidden steps, a person would have to use a boat or raft of some kind to get away, because the large lake left no room for land by the base of the (at this point, very sheer) cliff.

Now that she thought about it, Hikari realized that it was nothing short of a miracle that the people had managed to get into the valley in the first place. If the leaving was treacherous, then, theoretically, the entering would be equally so, right?

She stood, placing the book back from when she had gotten it. The sun was getting low, and it was time to visit her mother. Just a short hike up a steep slope, and Hikari would be able to vent whatever unwanted feelings she had in her mind. This was always her favorite part of any day she was able to do it.

At the top of the slope, the stone table and things were awaiting her arrival. Her mother's heart glinted in the slanting sunlight, almost sparkling. It's deep blue tone settled Hikari's nerves the moment she beheld it, and she knelt before the gem, putting it on a level with her eyes.

"Hi, mommy," she said. "I hope it isn't too cold up here for you. I wouldn't want you to freeze. Although, I guess that's kind of silly. You can't really freeze, can you? You've been up here a really long time, and every winter, I say that same thing. Still, you never complain. I like that I can keep talking to you like this. You always listen to what's getting me worried." A pause followed, as Hikari attempted to sort out her thoughts. "Speaking of which, there is something bothering me. It may be a bit selfish, but I'm lonely up here. I can't talk to the people, and there isn't anybody like Ayame and Kouga around to keep me company. Sure, I have all the animals, but you try carrying on a conversation with something that doesn't know what a demon is, or what a friend should be. I guess, mommy, that I need to travel more. Staying cooped up in the valley isn't going to help me make new friends at all. Maybe if I go on a journey, I'll find someone to be my friend and live with me here in the mountains." The gears in her head were cranking at full gear now. "If I leave right away, I can be gone for a month and a half, and be back before the first snowfall. Though it doesn't always come at the same time. And it is kind of a hassle to travel in, especially if you're flying. It gets all over my wings, and feathers aren't the easiest things to clean while way up in the air." True to form, Hikari was quickly veering off the intended course of subject. "I know!" she exclaimed. "I'll just walk! Then there's no chance that snow will wreck my flight!"

A thin pink cloud covered the sun, washing the ground with diluted beams. The wind that had carried it now blew over the mountain top, making the girl shiver. She looked to the setting sun, reluctant to leave.

"It looks like the world's going to sleep now, mommy. Maybe I should, too. You know how cranky I get when I don't get to sleep at the right time." Hikari stood, patting the only thing of her mother's left in the world. "I'll come up and say goodbye to you before I leave, okay? Night, mommy." Then, she climbed back down the incline, as she had so many times before.

The next morning, Hikari awoke to pure silence. No birds, no wind, no nothing. It confused her a great deal, so she poked her head out the window. To her immediate horror, she could see only dead stumps, burned and blackened, as far as the eye could see. She covered her face with her hands, trying to rub out the sight from her mind. When she looked again, however, it was as though nothing had happened. All the trees were tall and green as before, and he could hear the animals rustling and chirping again.

Hikari cocked an eyebrow. "That was weird," she quipped.

She dressed in the worker's outfit she had, packing everything else into a large bag. Grabbing a smooth staff that was resting by the door to her room, she slung the pack onto her shoulders by its straps.

"Off we go!" She'd almost reached the path away from the cliff when she remembered that she'd promised her mother a visit. She spun around, slapping her head for not reminding herself sooner. Then up the hill she went.

She reached the top and saw the the sun was very tilted to the east. She figured that there were still at least twelve, if not more, hours left of daylight. Her mother's heart glittered in the light with an inner luminescence. Hikari smiled, and sat down in the grass, admiring the morning clouds.

"I'm going to go now, mommy. I came to say goodbye, just like I said I would." She stopped, biting her lip, as though her mother were giving her an inquisitive stare. "Okay, so I forgot until right before I actually left. But I still came, so ha!" her grin widened. using the staff for support, Hikari lifted herself up off the ground, then began walking away. "I love you mommy, so be good, okay? Bye now!" She waved back at the enormous sapphire, and it glinted of its own accord.

"Silly as always, I see," it said rather amusedly.

Naturally, Hikari heard none of that, seeing as she was too busy thinking to herself which way she wanted to go first. Should she go south, to where it was warmer? Or east, to the larger sea? Maybe north? On second thought, not north. It was too cold up there, and the last thing Hikari wanted was to be snowed upon. She finally decided after all her inner bickering, that she would go west. She could stop by Kouga's, then continue on to the great forests.

She giggled. "It's a plan!"

Going down the mountain was a little harder than normal, but that was probably because of her pack. It was jammed with all sorts of things. Clothes, a pillow, a small, plush representation of a bear. The only thing it lacked was actual food. Which Hikari was sure she could simply get on her own. If not, then grass always tasted good to her.

When she got to the river, Hikari followed it out the narrow pass, which, for all intensive purposes, could be called a gorge. Steep walls, little greenery, and lots of rock. Yup, a gorge. She was at the top, and then headed around the lake while still on the hill. It was just easier that way.

Upon reaching level ground, she looked to where the sun was. Which was still pretty in the east, so she walked with it to her back. Out ahead of her were the vast plains. For some reason, very few trees grew on the extremely level ground around her mountains. It wasn't really much of a bother, just rather strange.

Hikari walked for about three hours straight, humming softly to herself as she went. The sun was now directly above her, bright and hot. The thinner forest of the west were now much closer, only about an hour's travel away. And Hikari was getting very hungry indeed. She was trying to keep it at bay, but alas, her stomach would not yield. Finally, she gave in and sat in the long grass. When standing, it had come up to her knees. Now, however, it reached her shoulders, almost effectively hiding her from sight of anything that was shorter than two feet.

"Ah," she sighed. "To have a nice roast chicken, with rice, and maybe some steamed carrots! I want fooooooood," Hikari moaned dispiritedly. Leaning her head back to the sky with her eyes still closed, she blew a stream of air out her pursed lips. "No cooks here, I guess." She opened her eyes and looked back at the ground. What she saw completely stunned her.

The exact food she had just described was now sitting on an earthenware plate right at her feet. And it looked really good, too. She glanced around, wondering if someone had hypnotized her and cooked up what she wanted. However, the sun was still at it's peak, so no time had passed. Not to mention that it was a ridiculous notion, at that. So she simply set down her staff, took off her pack, and dug in.

It was a superb meal, in all. Hikari managed to finish it off within five minutes, but that was just how she ate. It didn't reflect on how much or little of the food there was. It was more indicative of how good a dine it had been.

Hikari was now quite happy with how full her stomach was, and she set off for the trees again, smiling just a little bit brighter. The sun had only shifted a minute amount to the west, hardly noticeable. It was probably somewhere around eleven thirty in the morning at that moment, she figured.

The trees, as she found out when she reached them, were actually much closer than she had guessed. It had only taken a half an hour from lunch to when she got to the sparse tree line. They were mostly oaks and aspen trees, as she could see. They were also tall in the majority.

After another two hours of walking through brambles, ditches, and tight spaces, Hikari found a river. It was nothing like her home river, but it was large enough, and clear besides. She took a few long droughts from the stream, satisfying her thirst.

As Hikari righted herself, although, she heard a snapping twig. Spinning, she surveyed the surrounding trees, only to see nothing that would have made the sound. The occasional bird or insect, yes, but nothing so large as to break a stick.

Her eyes narrowed, attempting to pinpoint something, anything, for that matter. She tucked a section of auburn hair behind her ear to listen better, but still could hear very little that would give her a clue. So she figured that she was in for a good chase.

In a split second, her wings were out, and she leapt into the air, coasting over the trees. Whatever had been hiding from sight in the forest was indeed tailing her, for something began to jump rapidly through the trees. It was going at a speed rivaling her own, judging by the movement of the rustling trees.

As she was flying furiously away, her head covering slipped off, drifting down to the foliage, and her hair was free. It whipped in the wind, glinting as it often did. Her staff was still in hand, and the pack was firmly attached to her back, between the wings. She pressed harder, trying to outrun the pursuers beneath her.

All of a sudden, something shot out of the trees beneath her. A long, pink something, that attempted to wrap around her ankle. Fortunately for her, it missed. It had also appeared to be straining for height, which meant that the appendage of the creature's was probably not very long.

Hikari made the decision to fly higher. If she couldn't outstrip it, maybe she could just get out of its range. It seemed to be a good choice, too, for as she climbed in altitude, the long, pink thing lashed out, but could mot reach within a few feet of her. So she continued to get higher.

What then startled her was when a very much larger thing broke through the canopy of leaves, with wings that were shiny and transparent. It had glowing red eyes, and slightly hairy limbs, black and stick-like. It looked very much like an insect.

And it was right in front of her. Definitely not the best place for it to be. She had the sudden urge to smash it. Hard. Make its guts splatter across a wall, as any fly would normally be fated to do. All she needed now was a giant fly swatter.

She glided to a stop, hovering with a beat of her wings every second. It was also simply stalling in midair, facing her, a sly and menacing smirk upon it's horrendous visage.

"What's a little birdie doing so far from the nest on such a fine afternoon," it rasped in a voice that was as buzzy as the creature itself. "Surely you didn't think you could outsmart me, did you?"

One look at him gave her the spunk to retort with "No duh. I can outsmart you any day. Just give me a book."

As per the usual, Hikari's rather coarse words struck more than just a nerve. The whole insect demon trembled with anger. "I'll show you, fast food," he grumbled. Then he rushed forward, obviously intent on killing her.

But, of course, Hikari's quick reflexes allowed her to raise her staff and swing it at the approaching predator, connecting squarely with his head, and sending him tumbling down into the forest once more, very stunned indeed. He likely wouldn't wake for several hours, by which time Hikari would have long departed.

"Fast food my ass." She was rambling on to herself. "I eat, I don't get eaten. Impotent little bug."

With that, she flew off towards the west. Hopefully, she'd run into Kouga, though she could not remember the exact course that she had taken that day with Ginta and Hakkaku.

Such saps they were, she thought to herself. Loyal to a fault, and borderline wusses, but they still managed to hold their own, especially when Kouga was off doing something that was more than likely to be deemed by Ayame as very stupid.

Now that she thought about it, Kouga seemed to be the only one of any of the wolves that she had met that wasn't loyal to his pack. He was always running off to do something, whether it be chasing Naraku (as she had experienced firsthand) or, according to Ayame, 'fooling around with that pitiful human girl Kagome'. He happened to be the tribe leader, but he took no pride in the job.

Without knowing it, she'd flown slowly for an entire hour, lost in thought. The barking of wolves was the thing that finally startled her out of her reverie. She had obviously wandered into the wolf territory.

And it should be just her luck that Ginta should spot her shadow and look for its source. He shielded his eyes from the glaring sun and immediately recognized the unidentified flying object.

"Hii- chan!" he waved zealously, jumping a little. She glided down to meet him, landing quite gently. She also noticed that many of the cubs and other wolf demons were staring at her in awe. They'd never seen anyone with wings that wasn't evil. The birds of paradise, in fact, were pretty much the sole interaction with any creature that had feathers, and that gave a bad first impression of winged things. So she waved heartily. They calmed, knowing then that it was only a friend coming for a visit.

Ginta hugged her tightly. He smelled of stale bread and wet fur. "It's so good to see you! How have you been," he inquired.

She put a finger to her chin, as though the question required serious thought. "Well, I got kinda bored, which isn't all that strange for me, but I figured I'd go on a trip, 'cause I wanted to travel a bit before winter came, and when winter comes, you can't do much of anything, just because there's too much cold and snow around, and I thought that since I'd be coming this way, I'd drop by for a visit!" Ginta laughed at her sheer cheerfulness.

"We were all being kind of down since you visited, and we thought that you could help to cheer us all up. Truth be told, most of us missed you, and it's getting kind of depressing," he said.

Hikari struck a pose. "Never fear, for Hii-chan is here! Just tell me who I need to annoy."

Ginta thought for a moment. "Well," he started, "I think it would be best to go to Kouga first. He just won't stop obsessing about finding Naraku. He's been up on the ridge for an entire week now, just drawing maps, and where Naraku appeared. Whenever someone talks to him, he won't answer, or he'll growl if they don't go away quickly."

The diminutive redhead patted the dejected wolf on the back, then headed up to the ridge. "I'll snap him out of it. Just leave it to me," was her final statement.

She found Kouga exactly where Ginta said he'd be, sitting alone, drawing maps in the loose dirt. His back was to her, and she was pretty sure that he was too wrapped up in his obsession to even notice that she was there. A smirk appeared on her face, and she crept silently over to him, then leaned her head by his ear.

"Boo," she breathed. The desired effect of this action, which was a good scare, was achieved, as Kouga leapt up and whirled around, then tripped on a rock. He apparently hadn't been getting much sleep, Hikari noted to herself. There were dark rings around his eyes, and both his hair and his clothing seemed to be thoroughly coated in dirt. All things considered, he had earned the right to be cranky.

"What the hell was that? Where did you come from?" Kouga stood up and pointed a clawed finger at her.

Hikari gave a trademark blank stare. "I came from down the mountain, baka. If you would at least try to notice what's going on around you, then you might have figured that out. According to Ginta, you've been up here for a week straight. That can't be good. Why don't you come down?"

Her words only seemed to make him more stubborn, if that is at all probable to happen. "I don't need to go down," he scoffed. "I don't need anyone at all. I just need to kill Naraku, to make him pay."

The shorter of the two rolled her eyes. "And what if he's broke," she teased.

Kouga gave her a surprisingly harsh glare, but she just smiled sweetly up at him. "Stop that. This is no joking matter. He and his heartless minions killed off almost half of my tribe. He'll do it again if I let him. I have to make the first move."

Hikari's smile disappeared, replaced by an expression of intense wisdom and sadness. "And what if he kills you instead? Then the tribe will die for sure. They'll have no one to protect them if you leave. The most you can do right now is stay by their side, and shield them when the time comes. I may not know much about Naraku, but he is clearly not the sort of demon to do something without purpose or provocation. If he eradicated half of your tribe, then he clearly meant to hinder you and make you give him a reason to take out the rest of you. Don't give him that reason, Kouga."

Kouga turned up his nose. "Big words, from such a small little thing."

She raised her head regally. "The small are usually the best weapons, simply because they are often overlooked and underestimated. If I ever come across Naraku, I will be sure to let him do the same. It may just be his downfall." She swayed a little in the breeze, pivoting around. "Now come on down. You must be hungry after all that drawing." In response to his sudden growl, she replied, "And yes, I meant that as an insult."

Kouga felt the need to hit her upside the head, but refrained from it. At the moment, all he wanted was to sleep. He hadn't know how tired he was until she'd startled him out of his obsession. He could also really do with something to eat, because his stomach was now rumbling like crazy. So the natural choice was to follow the annoying little brat.

In front of him, Hikari shook her head. 'He can't really think I'm a brat, now, can he? Annoying, yes, but I'm not that selfish. Wait a minute? Who am I kidding? This is Kouga. He barely means anything he says or thinks. Especially insults.' She inwardly laughed.

Kouga's ears perked at her giggle. "What's so funny," he inquired.

Hikari just shrugged and twisted her head around to face him. "Everything." she answered.

The demon sweat dropped. 'She sure has a way of avoiding the question,' he thought offhandedly. 'And yet, I have a feeling she was actually answering it, in her own way.'

They trotted back down the path to the caves- well, Hikari was the one that trotted. Kouga was simply putting one foot in front of the other, and leaving it at that. He really didn't have the energy to do much else, and was baffled as to how the girl in front of him could manage to have such a large capacity for activity as she did. It was almost as tiring as the fact that he had had neither sleep nor food for about a week. Almost. But at least now, he'd get food and some sleep. He could always deal with Hikari later, when he;d had time to shrug this huge weight off of his shoulders.

Kouga couldn't figure out what had made him snap. He wasn't the type of demon who'd just take to himself like that. Run off, heck yes, and maybe even not be in touch for a week, too. But sitting on top of a hill, drawing in the dirt, and totally ignoring anyone who came near him was just not his style at all.

The second he came into view, almost all of the wolves' jaws hit the ground. They could hardly believe that he was there right then. He'd basically been a stone for a week, and now, this small-looking girl had gone up and cracked him open. Even Ayame had trouble with that, and she always got his attention when she wanted it.

For now, though, they didn't bother Kouga. The pack just sat where they were, doing what they'd been doing. The children kept on with their games. The adults conversed in the normal hushed tones.

At last, Hikari approached the leader of the pack, bearing an exceedingly large piece of roasted meat on a wooden plank. Quite possibly a small boar, in fact. She plopped it down in front of him, and sat on the other side of it from him.

"Eat up, already" she chimed. "Before I get hungry enough to help you."

Kouga snorted dully. "I'd like to see you try. Looking at you, I don't think you could eat all the meat off of a leg if you tried." He tore off a limb for himself, and began munching.

In the second that he closed his eyes, though, she managed to practically inhale two legs, leaving the bones very very clean, and was chomping on the apple that was previously in the animal's mouth when he looked again. He should have known not to egg her on, but then again, this was Kouga, so of course he didn't.

"You're lucky I'm not hungry right now, wolfie boy," she taunted. "Otherwise, you wouldn't have anything else to eat. Now get to putting that meat in your mouth, and swallowing." He obeyed silently, for once.

Ginta and Hakkaku made their way over to the two cautiously, as not to disturb Kouga. Hakkaku hugged her straight off the bat. He, like Ginta, was overjoyed that she had visited, and just that much more ecstatic that she had been able to recall Kouga from the hilltop. While the exhausted wolf demon ate a few feet to the left, they engaged in warmed conversation. The two boys told Hikari stories of the past few weeks, little things like the children's new discoveries, and basic couple gossip. Sadly, they had to break it off when they spotted Ayame, who headed in the small group's direction.

Upon seeing Hikari, Ayame broke out into an open grin. "It's good to see you again," she said once she reached the girl. "It's been a little while, hasn't it?"

Hikari flopped onto her back, peeping up at the demoness from her place on the ground with a happy smirk. "Yup," she chirped. "Is it just me, or have you gotten taller?"

Ayame crouched down, looking directly into the other girl's eyes. "It might just be the way you're lying on the ground, Hii-chan."

Hikari giggled. "That might be it," was her beaming reply, before righting herself. "I got Kouga down from his pouty spot," she informed the more statuesque female.

"I noticed. It's been a week since he ate anything. I figured it had to be getting to him eventually. Men do think with only two things, you know. The stomach is one of those."

Her statement confused her companion. "What's the other thing that they think with, Yame-chan?"

Ayame nearly gagged. She knew that Hikari was much older than her, but she acted so much like a kid that Ayame was forced to think of her as a little sister. the question sounded as if it were posed by a four-year-old, so she was naturally reluctant to answer it. "Never mind that," she amended. "It's not important to know that."

Ginta and Hakkaku were staring at the two girls this entire exchange, increasingly befuddled. They had no idea what the two were talking about, being rather slow of mind as they were (no offense to them).

Nonetheless, they didn't ask, and Hikari was soon on a different subject, so they couldn't ask without getting estranged glares from the girls. Better to stay out of it, they figured.

"Ginta," Hakkaku asked tentatively, "Do you ever get the feeling that the girls all seem to talk in code?"

Ginta merely shook his head wisely. "All the time, friend, all the time. It is why we cannot truly understand anything they say, because there is always a hidden meaning in their words. Guys just can't get it without help."

The other demon nodded. "So that's why Yoshiki got mad last night."

That mumbling made his friend look at him suggestively. "Did you say something?"

Hakkaku shrugged. "We were looking at the cubs playing, and she said that they were really cute. I told her that I wasn't that into kids, they were kind of annoying to me. She gave me this really hard stare, and kind of huffed off."

"A true mystery," Ginta sighed. "We may never know what they think."

A cheerful voice made them jump a few inches off the ground. "I think that food is good, if that helps." Hikari offered.

Ayame put her hand on the shorter one's shoulder. "I don't think it will, Hii-chan. They didn't mean that."

Hikari just pouted. "Guys are weird," she mused. Ayame could only agree, and the small redhead glanced to the sky. The sun was getting kind of low at that moment. She should head off.

Ayame followed her friend's line of sight, interpreting what she was thinking. "You can stay here, if you like. The woods aren't exactly the best place to be when you're alone at night. There's a lot of things that I'd rather not meet while they're prowling around in the dark."

Hikari sighed, then nodded. 'Ayame's right,' she told herself. It was dangerous out in the woods after the sun had gone down. Not that she'd had any personal experience with that, but her mother had told her enough times for her to get the picture.

Now, Ayame led Hikari to the caves and where the women and children slept. The stone floor was completely covered in mounds of furs, spread out to serve as cushions and blankets. One almost had to wonder where it all came from. She let the demoness lead her to a particularly comfy spot near the back, where most of the children were.

"If there's an attack," Ayame explained, "The kids and pups are better back here, where we can protect them. The others up near the mouth of the cave can distract the intruders while we help the little and vulnerable ones. We have a system of caverns that was found, and the elders let in a stream from outside."

Hikari was awed. "That's impressive. It's like the hiding places the villagers dug back home for in case the valley got flooded or anything."

Ayame was intrigued. She'd never heard her friend talk about her home, or really about herself, for that matter. "You live in a valley?"

The diminutive girl shook her head. "No. I live on a mountain. The valley is where the villagers live. It's really isolated. Kind of hard to get to too, unless you're flying."

"So I take it you don't get away from the valley much, then?"

Hikari nodded. "Yeah. I just don't have much reason to leave the house."

"But what about the village? Wouldn't you need to go down every once in a while," Ayame inquired.

"They don't know it's me," came the distant reply. "They can't see the castle that their ancestors built, and they wouldn't be able to understand that I'm not a fairy tale."

Now the wolf was really confused. "So you mean to say that they built you a home, and now they don't even know you exists? How'd that happen?"

Ayame never got her question answered, because at that moment another wolf sat herself down right next to them, one with an extremely swollen belly. She rubbed her back, as though it were paining her a great deal.

"Temari's kicking again," she complained with a warm smile. Hikari could tell that she wasn't really annoyed about it at all. Whatever it was. She'd never seen a person with such a large stomach.

Ayame quickly took note of this fact. "Haven't you ever see a pregnant woman before?" Hikari slowly turned her head from side to side, indicating a 'no'. "Well, here's your chance. Noriko," she gestured to the wolf with the expanded midsection, "Is going to have a pup in a few weeks. It's going to be a girl, and she's already named her daughter Temari."

The blue-eyed girl cocked her head. "I didn't know that was how most babies were before they came out. I was never lucky enough to come into the village until after they were born."

A laugh emanated from the other redhead. "Didn't your mother ever teach you the facts of life? I mean, you were born the same way."

Hikari smiled, shaking her head softly. "No, my mommy found me as an egg. I never got to be inside anyone to the point where I could kick them." She reached out her hand to Noriko's stomach, resting it gently on the bulge, and giving a smile that was both sweet and sad.

Ayame was again prevented from speaking by a person interrupting the tide of conversation. This time, it was a young male.

"Time to settle down for the night," he informed everybody in the cave. "They're going to put out most of the campfires now.

Hikari was pretty much the only one who didn't even acknowledge the boy. She was too busy gaping at Noriko's belly.

"What is it," asked the expecting mother.

"She kicked..." the girl breathed.

Ayame managed a light chuckle. "We can explore the miracles of birth in the morning, silly. It's time to get to sleep." She pushed Hikari down playfully, then stood up. "I'm part of the first shift of watchers during the night, but I'll come back in a little while.

Hikari just nodded meekly, feeling very much like one of the three-year-olds that were currently cuddling into her for warmth. She glanced around her, looking at all the cute and furry little bodies. She wouldn't be lonely at all that night...

* * *

Hikari- You know, I only recently started on chapter 11. I'm kind of worried that I won't be able to finish the other chapters in such a timely fashion. 

Saikyou- Don't worry- I'll help you with ideas and stuff if you get behind!

Hikari- Thank you, Sai-sai! I'm also glad that you came!

Saikyou- Je t'aime, mon amour, bon voyage!

Hikari- Avion! Ou est le bain?

Saikyou- Up the stairs, you know that.

Hikari- Right. I was just making sure that you hadn't remodeled.

Saikyou- It's your house, not mine.

Hikari- Oh yeah!

Saikyou- Hii-chan this chapter is really long. I like it.

Hikari- Thank you! I like it too!

Saikyou- You're bored, aren't you?

Hikari- Intensely.

Saikyou- Well, I'm sorry, but I can't help you there. I have my own boredom issues.

Hikari- Why don't you try eating? It always helps my boredom.

Saikyou- and that is why it would be impossible for you to be anorexic- you love food too much.

Hikari- I do, don't I? Oh, look, a Victoria's Secret!

Saikyou- Do you think Brian is in there?

Hikari- Yup. He's coming out right now.

Saikyou- What!

Brian- Oh. Hi. You weren't supposed to see that.

Hikari- Well, not only did I see it, but I webcast it. And took pictures.

Brian- Where are all the cameras?

Saikyou- This is the fanfiction world. Everything is a camera.

Hikari- This cake is a camera! (cuts open cake to show camera.)

Brian- Perfect.


	11. Fancy Meeting You Here!

1/16/06:

Hello again, all! It really has been a long time since I last updated here, but my 'streak' was during the winter break, and now, finals are here. Not that that'll deter me, but it was mainly the homework crap that held me back. I'm hoping that I'll get more writing in once the new semester starts up next week. I'm told that it shouldn't be too hectic. At least, that's what everybody seems to think...

Until then, enjoy and review the following, 'kay?

* * *

**Singing to the Wind**

Chapter 11

_Fancy Meeting you Here! _

The morning had dawned cheery and bright a full three hours ago, and Hikari was again trudging through the woods. It had taken a while to convince Ayame and the other members of the wolf tribe that she was okay to travel alone. None of them seemed to think that she was at all capable of handling herself, much less defending against an attacker.

But now, she was a while's travel from the caves, and heading up a light incline. She had her staff, her pack, her clothes, and a new cloth to cover her hair. It was lucky for her that she always carried a spare of such things. It was evident that she had taken a route to a more rough sort of terrain. Soon, she reckoned, mountains would appear in the landscape.

As she was traveling further and further to the west, however, Hikari couldn't help but notice a feeling that was creeping up on her. It was as though there were something waiting for her, and each step took her closer to it.

Abruptly, the trees stopped, and she found herself on a dirt road. It appeared to be heading due west, as was her intended course. It seemed to be well maintained, in that there were no huge holes or ruts in it. All in all, it was a more than serviceable road. So she took it in the direction that it was going. There was a good chance that the road even led to villages. It wasn't like Hikari was antisocial. Even those who were secluded for most of their lives need occasional company.

Hikari traveled a little more than an hour on the road before seeing a few people. She immediately got a bad feeling about the two men. They were both slow-moving and unpleasant to look at. She suspected that they had very little in the way of intelligence as well. They leered at her as she walked in the direction from which they were coming. The dirtier, uglier one actually whistled. Hikari just walked on, and was glad that the men didn't try to follow her.

The village that they had come from was just another twenty minutes' walk away, and was a very nice sort of town, too. There weren't all that many children running around in the neighborhood, but that could just be because there weren't any homes in that particular area. All Hikari could see on the street were shops.

As she walked down the aisle, a very polite woman with a basket of flowers greeted her, saying, "Good morning, child." Hikari smiled back, nodding.

When she reached a crossroads, she noticed a very strange sectioned off part of the town. It was very tacky, and there were men guarding it with spears. The women and children who passed in front of it paid it no attention, but Hikari noticed a few men passing through the guards. She shrugged. 'It's probably just something for guys,' she reasoned, and continued on.

She noticed a man holding an object with many cords going from one end to the other, and plucking them softly. The result was pleasantly musical. There was also a basket in front of the man, for which Hikari could see no inherent purpose. Until, that is, someone dropped in some fruit and a copper coin. The man gave his thanks and continued to play the instrument.

Hikari looked at the man inquisitively. Was he so poor that he had to sit in the street and wait for people to give him food? Or was it that he simply like to make music, and let people donate out of their own free will? There were so many aspects of the situation to consider.

After a moment of quick deliberation, Hikari decided that the best thing she could do for the man was to give him more money. It was more likely than not that he would need it, either now or in the future. It could only help.

The money itself wasn't hard to conjure up. Hikari had seen money from regions outside of her valley, and was able to fabricate it exactly. She only made ten copper pieces, not knowing what the general going for prices in the area was. In the valley, everything was on a barter system, so money was pretty much obsolete. They had neither the resources nor the experience to actually make any money.

As she walked past the man, she dropped the ten copper pieces into the basket at his feet. It was almost disturbing when he stopped playing altogether. She looked back, and saw that the man was gaping at the money. Obviously, it had been worth more than she thought. Hikari quickly scurried away, to make sure that the man didn't make too much of a scene and try to do something that would bring too much attention to her. It was one of the last things that she needed.

Soon enough, the village was behind Hikari, and she was still on the road, headed straight into the west. She wondered what she would find out near the horizon. Who she would meet. Maybe a friend or two.

Then she remembered something. And nearly slapped herself for ever forgetting it. Sesshomaru lived out here! When she'd gone brain diving, she'd found that he lived almost directly west of her. So it stood to reason that his castle should be coming into view in the next few hours. Or whatever they called it- estate, villa, it didn't matter. The point was that he lived near there, and Hikari would get to visit him!

She looked down, noticing that the road near here was less traveled, or at least better kept than the other one leading into the village. She was definitely getting near. Since Fluffy (she couldn't help but call him that- his tail kept making her use that name.) was a lord over the western lands, it would make sense that everything around him would be better kept.

Of course, there was also the fact that the people at the tall end of the rank ladder tended to live on higher ground, so Hikari found that she was now having to drag herself up yet another hill. Not that she hadn't had to do that before, but somehow, it seemed worse. Quite possibly because there was someone akin to royalty at the top.

Fortunately, the top was a lot closer than she would have guessed, and the ground began to level out after a time. Not that the trees were thinning. If anything, Hikari thought that the forest around her had gotten even more dense. One would think that around a castle, there wouldn't be many trees at all.

But, sure enough, there came a point where the trees stopped. That was when Hikari was able to see Fluffy's house. And it was huge. At least three stories high, it was built in the traditional Japanese style- open porches, sliding doors- with the exception of a very large pair of wooden doors, on which there was an equally oversized knocker, though the two guards standing, well, guard, rather defeated the purpose of it. But, hey, why waste a perfectly good pair of men? Hikari simply marched up to them, a cheery smile adorning her face- which she just now realized was far paler than most people's, considering most people toiled in the sun all day.

"State your name and business," the man on the left barked. He was shorter than the other man, but it was evident that he did more of the speaking of the two.

Hikari diplomatically answered. "I'm Hikari. I came to see Flu- I mean, Lord Sesshomaru."

The guard wasn't impressed. "Is it urgent?"

"Not at all."

Questioning would not relent. "Business or personal matter?"

Hikari shrugged. "Personal, I guess. I haven't exactly done business with him, just talked."

"Very well," the guard said curtly, then turned to the door. A small window slid back, revealing a pair of eyes, to which the guard spoke. "Inform the Lord, Maki." The window shut, and the guard turned back around to face Hikari. "You may enter," he stated. The door was opened by the other sentry, and Hikari tentatively stepped across the threshold, glancing every which way.

The place was impeccably furnished. There was a gigantic tapestry depicting an epic battle on one wall, and another showing a... peace meeting? It was hard to decipher. Hanging from a small alcove, there was a banner of a violet crescent moon and a star in the center of it. There was a sort of leafy, swirling, blue pattern around the edges, with golden corded tassels on the bottom. The background was white with red flowers. It was a very breathtaking sight, when observed with the two tapestries, and the crimson carpet. The wood in the place was dark and reddish-brown. Most of the walls Hikari could see were white, but that might not speak for the rest of the castle.

There was a door directly in front of her, showing some sort of garden in a courtyard. Hikari couldn't resist walking to the door and stepping into the miniature paradise to explore.

It was, if the fact was even possible, more beautiful than anything she had ever seen. There were flowers and trees of all kinds and shapes and colors. Gorgeous violet blooms climbed up stones with their waxy green stems. There were fragrant pink and red and white flowers with stems that were covered in spiky thorns. There was also one group of these flowers with a sapphire hue to it. Glorious. There were very few other words for it. The garden had things she'd never imagined in it, and the smell of all these plants mixing and swirling in the air gave the room a positively heady scent. She almost felt as though breathing it in too long would cause her to pass out from excessive happiness.

Hikari nearly collapsed onto a bench that was conveniently located in the center, where one could see the sky, with many puffy clouds passing by in the wind. She inhaled deeply, slipping off her head covering, and letting her mahogany tresses tumble down in their natural waves around her arms and back. The place put her into a sort of trance, and she found that she was relaxing much more than she normally allowed herself away from home.

"Excuse me, miss, but are you supposed to be here?" Hikari had to practice some real restraint to both keep herself from falling off of the bench, and scorching the poor boy that had startled her to a crisp. A small 'yip' still escaped out of her mouth as she spun, though.

The boy, who was obviously human, and couldn't be any older than fifteen, seemed concerned that he had scared her. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to alarm you. I just wanted to let you know that Lord Sesshomaru dislikes it when someone enters his garden unless he invites them. He's really strict about rules like that," the boy explained.

Hikari shoved away her shock, and examined the boy. Young, yes, and possibly a servant of the castle. He had midnight dark hair, with spiky bangs in the front, and tied back into a high ponytail that didn't quite reach in line with his shoulder. He had deep, silent eyes, as dark as his hair, with a blueish tint to them. His face was what showed his age, but it possessed a wisdom that Hikari had never seen in a boy of similar age. It gave him an air of handsome maturity. He had armor of some sort on, which made Hikari doubt that he was a simple servant, and he was hiding something behind his back. Potentially a weapon. It didn't seem like he was going to attack, though, so the hiding the something behind the back could just have been a nervous habit.

"Miss? Miss," he repeated, snapping Hikari out of her trance again. He was definitely a nice boy, because he kept being intensely polite to her. Normally, people didn't bother.

"It's fine, Takayo," pronounced a sudden voice. Both the boy and Hikari turned to observe Sesshomaru in another doorway to the courtyard. "I must talk with my guest." there was a certain scathing quality in his voice that let Takayo and Hikari know that whatever he was going to say, it would not be pleasant. "You may go now," he stated finally, and the boy bowed before walking away.

Hikari beamed brightly at the demon lord. "Hi, Fluffy-san!" Sesshomaru visibly twitched. It was subtle, but she still caught it. "What? I called you 'san', didn't I? Why so angry," she inquired then.

"It isn't my name," he hissed, getting more irritable by the second. In his experience, every single person he'd met- with the obvious exception of his mother and father- had been scared shitless when he got in a foul mood. He couldn't begin to fathom why it wasn't working on this girl, because she just cruised right on by.

"Well, if a name is nothing more than what others call you, then no one would actually have a single name, because a different person would call them a different name. If I call you Fluffy, then it's your name, if the theory holds true." This hypothesis prompted a growl from the Taiyoukai, and she held up her hands defensively. "It's what fits you, not what I randomly picked out of boredom. Look at your tail," she offered.

Sesshomaru ceased growling, but still was very angry. "It isn't a tail," he shot back, blatantly lying.

This only made Hikari smirk more. "Then why is it moving on its own?"

The inu youkai looked at the furry mass (A.K.A.- his tail) on his shoulder, and saw that it was indeed moving of its own accord. The bottom of it was swaying slightly, back and forth, but not fast enough to be considered a wag. It was more what a cat would do when considering something. He stopped its moving, annoyed that Hikari would have to point out something like that. He quickly changed the subject of conversation.

"Why are you even here?"

She continued to have that smile on her face... the one that made him think that she was teasing him. "I was in the neighborhood, and I thought I'd drop by," she articulated softly. "I'm traveling."

"Traveling to where," Sesshomaru asked nonchalantly.

Hikari shrugged. "I picked a direction, and started walking. Where I end up is where I was going."

Sesshomaru found this ideal to be very stupid. If she ended up dead, then that was where she meant to go. He told her so.

"Well, it doesn't matter to me, as long as I learn things while I'm going there."

The Taiyoukai turned his head to face her. "What do you intend to learn?" He normally didn't ask so many questions, but the way this girl spoke intrigued him. That and the fact that she claimed to be far older than him. He was totally baffled as to how any demon could look so young when they had so many years on them. At first blush, the hypothetical reason appeared to be that the youkai was overly ambitious, but this was clearly not the case. Hikari seemed to be anything but power-hungry, as far as Sesshomaru could tell.

Hikari lifted her face to the sky, letting the dappled sunlight caress her features. "What I am," she said simply, in a voice so soft that even the inu youkai had trouble hearing the words. "It's the one thing I have to find out, because it's the one thing that I may never learn."

Sesshomaru walked over to her so that he was but a few feet from where she was sitting. "You're a demon," he stated. "Pure and simple. Besides, don't you have parents for that?"

He saw immediately that his words had struck a nerve, for Hikari's smile faded a little bit. She opened her eyes and brought her head back down. "No. I don't," was her reply. "The only mother I ever knew found me as an egg, and I have never know those who brought me into being." She looked up at him, the expression on her face appearing sad and aged. "You know that you are an inu because you have parents, because you've met others like you. I have never met anyone, demon or otherwise, who is in the least bit similar to me. There is a chance that I never will, and thus the reason why it will be hard to find out what I truly am."

In that moment, the Taiyoukai found himself both pitying her and admiring her. It was a new sensation for him. The only other people he could ever remember admiring were his parents. After they had died, he had been unable to think of anyone on his level. It was strange to feel admiration for this girl, after having abstained from the emotion for so long. It was made even more confusing by the fact that he felt sorry for her as well. He didn't usually pity people, or at least, he didn't pity people and let them live. His normal policy was to put them out of their misery.

"Stand up," Sesshomaru ordered suddenly. Hikari blinked, wondering why she should. "Just do it," he amended, and she shrugged, obeying. He stood so that he was directly facing her, from three feet away. "When you interrupted my battle" the inu explained, "You appeared in the form of a large bird with mostly red feathers and gold fletch on your wings. Obviously, you are a youkai of some aerial or aviary sort."

Hikari put a hand on her hip. "Well, I could have told you that. I don't see why it's an answer coming from your mouth."

His amber eyes flashed dangerously. "I wasn't finished speaking." He abruptly turned and began walking to the courtyard door. "Come," he added, as an afterthought. So Hikari begrudgingly followed where he led.

They went up three flights of stairs and down at least six different hallways before reaching a pair of carved doors. they weren't as thick or elaborate as the front doors, but they had golden handles in the shape of fearsome dogs. Sesshomaru flung them open to reveal a library that was- to say the least- enormous. There were more books in it than Hikari had seen in a good long while. Shelf after shelf, jam packed with ancient and new tomes alike, collecting dust. There was a large wooden desk with a carved chair sitting behind it. The window had a built-in bench, with green cushions set on top of it. The overall effect was cozy.

The Taiyoukai was to the middle of the room before he found that there was no longer anyone following him. He turned back to see Hikari still loitering in the doorway, awed by the sheer amount of books. Now, it wasn't that she hadn't seen this many books in her life, it was just that she had never seen that many books in one room, so naturally she was rather taken aback.

Sesshomaru went to a single shelf, rather near the window, and slightly above eye level for him- which would be almost out of reach for Hikari- and slipped a dusty lilac book from its perch. Then he set it on the desk before sitting down, addressing the girl still on the outside of the room.

"You would do well to come in, girl." She did, still looking around herself at the resplendent surroundings. He continued. "All you would need to know about the youkai whose animal form is that of a bird is in that book. Read it all you want." he watched as she reverently stepped over to the desk, lifting the volume off of it. She gracefully blew the dust from the tome, gazing at it, and then holding it to her chest, as though it were a precious thing. Her eyes turned to him, the twinkle now catching his golden stare. She smirked, as was her custom, he had noticed. he still never understood what caused her to smile so often. In the handsome but cold dog's opinion, there were very few things in life to smile or be happy about.

"You've read it already, though, haven't you?" It was more of a statement of fact than a question, but he answered nonetheless.

"That is obvious, is it not? Why would I have all these books if I don't read them?" It was a rhetorical question, so Hikari didn't bother to answer it. He continued right on, anyway. "What use would it be to you if I have read it or not, unless you have not acquired the skill yourself?" That one was meant to be replied to.

"Oh, I can read," she chucked. "But it's inconvenient for me to have to read the entire book, when I can just get the shortened version from you, don't you think so?"

Sesshomaru studied her for a moment more, though to Hikari, the time that passed, while his amber gaze was raking up and down her figure, seemed to be much greater than a mere moment. It was relieving when he finally spoke again, giving her something to help her a little bit.

"There are descriptions and drawings of each type of winged youkai in the back of the book, starting at page one hundred and eight," he hinted. Hikari could tell that he wasn't usually this nice to anyone, and that he was being overly lenient (in his world) with her, and she chuckled under her breath as she flipped to the page.

When she reached the particular section that he had told her to go to, she was amazed that the pictures had been colored in, and with a very adept hand at that. The colors were faded, but it was apparent that they were painted in with watercolors and a very small brush. The details were intense, and undoubtedly accurate. Hikari turned pages, and as she went, most of the birds, in addition to not resembling her aviary form, were grotesque and sometimes very ugly. The descriptions didn't help. The odd phrase often jumped out at her, like "eats only the livers of alcoholic humans," or "prefers to keep victims alive while ripping out their innards." Sometimes, it would be more pleasant, with "vegetarian", or "lives far from any other species; is not a threat". Very gruesome stuff indeed.

About thirty pages in, she saw a drawing that was of three birds, all of the same shape, but with different colors. The first one was yellow, with some green mixed in, and a blue fore feather in a green and yellow crest atop a head that was supported by a long neck. There was a description that went a third of the way down the page. On the page facing it, there was one that was all white, save the single blue fore feather in its crest.

However, it was the one just under the yellow bird that caught Hikari's attention. It looked, more or less, exactly like her when she was a bird. The red, gold, and white underbelly, with the same blue fore feather as both of the other ones.

The heading at the top of the section read- "The Three Phoenix Tribes of the Orient", and the yellow version was entitled "Chinese Gold". Below it, the description read, "This tribe of the phoenixes resides solely on the mainland, away from Japan, in China. They live high up in the mountains, and are almost never spotted. They are the most fearsome of the three tribes, for their numbers are in the greatest supply. If they spot a human, they will attack without a second thought. It is near impossible to catch one once it has reached a year of age, at which point they disappear into the mountains, almost never to be seen again. It is not known what they eat, or if they are able to take on any other form, but they are suspected to have special abilities that enable them to move great mounds of earth, and go from one place to another in the blink of an eye. They also have ways with fire."

The article beneath the image of her was rather similar, but slightly shorter. It spilled over onto the next page, but only because the pictures took up so much space. It said, "Less is known about the Fire Wind tribe other than their coloring. It is believed that they will live in either China or Japan, though Japan is the most likely land where they take up residence. They are more intelligent than their golden cousins, and can avoid the human eye with greater effectiveness. Only several sightings have ever been made in recorded history, so the number of them is a mystery. It is speculated that they can take on two or more forms, though it isn't known precisely what they are. It is known, however, that they also can create fire, and it is suspected that they have an affinity for time and bringing things from nothing. Unlike the Golden, these youkai are not vegetarians, though no human abductions have ever been reported by them."

That gave her a lot to work on, but she still felt the need to read the piece underneath the last image- the pure white phoenix. "The True Light Phoenix tribe is by far the most elusive of the three tribes. Next to nothing is known about them, other than that they are never spotted in range of each other. If they appear in one spot, then they are likely to be seen there again, but not at any regular time. None have ever seen it take flight. Where it lands, there appear sudden anomalies, such as flowers that bloom always, or a lake that never freezes, but is still safe to drink from."

The entire time that she was reading, though she hadn't really known it, the great Lord Sesshomaru had been watching her intently, his amber orbs fixated on her face, observing the various expressions she had sported throughout the book. It intrigued him that she could be so open with her emotions, and yet not be obvious about it. She had extreme mood swings, yes, that was evident, but she never stayed on one too long. He figured that she never held a grudge, either, judging by the fact that she seemed to have Rin's attention span. The abrupt allusion to Rin made him stop his train of thought. was she really like Rin? The answer was no. Rin was a mere child, she didn't just act like one. Hikari, from what she had told him, lived alone, and most likely isolated, whereas his ward couldn't fend for herself at all, not since she had begun to travel alongside him.

His thoughts halted again when he saw that Hikari had stopped at a particular page, and was now in the process of reading it through. Her face changed from slight boredom and restlessness to interest, recognition and understanding. She had obviously found her species. Now, if Sesshy had been able to read minds like Hikari, he would have found that beneath the surface, she was sorely disappointed. He would have known that her question had not, in truth, been answered to the fullest. But, not having that ability, he thought that now she could leave, that her journey was over after barely having started.

Hikari finally stopped reading, and closed her eyes. A deep breath in, and then she softly shut the book, with an equally quiet sigh. Her eyes opened, and she spoke to the air. "Well, I know who I am." She looked to the Taiyoukai, who was still sitting in his chair, the same indifferent look on his person. She noticed, though, that it was no longer as cold as it had seemed the first time she'd met him. There was even the slightest trace of- dare she say it- care. 'No idea how that got there,' she mused.

Sesshomaru unexpectedly stood and made for the door. Hikari gaped, and stuttered, "What are- where are you going!" She ran over to the hallway, book still in hand. She used the door handle to anchor herself while she spun out of the room. "Damn, he's fast," she muttered. She chased all the way down the hall, calling after the demon lord. Not that he paid her any attention, considering he acted as though there were nothing to hear.

As Hikari rounded the second corner, a little two-foot-high yellow blur shot out of a doorway, colliding with the Taiyoukai. He stopped, and looked down at the small girl.

"Hello, Rin," he said shortly. It was now apparent that the small thing clinging to the lord was a little girl, with a yellow kimono and black hair. She nuzzled further into his leg and squealed.

"Lord Sesshomaru, Rin missed you so much! It's no fun with just Jaken around!"

'Jaken,' thought Hikari. 'That name sounds familiar- oh hey, that's the toady that I scorched in the woods!' She giggled as the very thing she had been thinking of scurried out of the same room, attempting to scold the little girl- er, Rin.

"You insolent child, you know that his Lordship does not like it when you cling to him like a leech! Now, stop it at once, I command you!"

Rin simply turned her head around and stuck out her tongue. "You're being a poopyhead, master Jaken." Upon saying this, she turned back around, noticing someone at the end of the hall. Hikari, in fact. She grinned happily. "Hello, miss! I'm Rin!" She let go of Lord Sesshomaru's leg and skipped over to the older girl. "What is your name?"

Hikari bent down to Rin's level, smiling equally cheerfully. "I'm Hikari. It's very nice to meet you, Rin."

Sesshomaru watched this exchange, and felt rather irked that they could both be so happy. Normally, having his little ward be so sunny was enough. He could hardly stand to see two people acting so gratified at the same time, in the same room. He looked on as they continued to smile incessantly, and then hugged. If it had been up to him, he would have cringed, but strangely enough, he almost smiled at the sight. It was kind of cute, actually. Though he would never admit to thinking that.

Rin and Hikari stopped their embrace, and Rin skipped over to the Taiyoukai, dragging her new friend along. "Can Hii-chan and I play in the garden," she chirped. Sesshomaru responded with a nearly undetectable nod of his stately head, causing the ball of energy to speed off down the nearest staircase, undoubtedly to play hide and seek, or something of the sort. Jaken chased after the two girls, waving his double-headed staff all the way.

Sesshomaru figured that he might as well watch Rin play with her new friend, and he, too, headed for the garden. when he reached it, it was bathed in a golden light, for the sun was close to its daily setting. The girls were running around in hyperactive circles around the stone bench, laughing maniacally. It was now seen, as he entered the courtyard, that Hikari was the one chasing Rin. He slipped to the bench in the moment that they wouldn't collide into him, and sat, with his eyes closed, absorbing the sound around him. He listened as Hikari tackled the smaller girl, and began to engage in tickling her with little to no mercy. Rin's delighted squeals filled the space, reverberating off of the ivy-covered walls. He also heard when Rin fought back, managing to get her 'attacker' on the ground and 'return fire'. Now it was Hikari who couldn't stop laughing.

As with all things, of course, the tickling sessions came to an end, when both of them could no longer gather up the energy to either giggle or do much of anything else, but collapse into the soft blades of grass, staring up at the golden clouds. They hung like flaxen sheep in the darkening blue sky, moving to wherever the wind would take them. It was perfectly breathtaking.

"Rin is so happy," Rin said, in the third-person way that she most often did. Hikari didn't mind. She thought it was awfully cute. "Will you tell Rin about you?"

Hikari flipped over onto her stomach, placing her chin on her hands, and putting one leg over the other. "Sure, Rin," she beamed. "But you might want to make yourself comfy- it's going to take a little while." Rin simply smiled from where she was, showing that she was perfectly comfortable in that particular position. "Well, my mother was a dragon, from far, far away." Rin started to interrupt to ask questions, but remembered that it was rude to do so, and she refrained. It didn't matter, though, because Hikari answered her questions. "She wasn't my real mother, though. She was from a place where they have never heard of youkai, at least, not in the sense as we know them. She wasn't a youkai, just a dragon, traveling the world around. She just happened to find my egg in a wooded valley, about eight or nine leagues from here. She knew that whatever was in that egg was now hers to protect as best she could, so she waited. When I hatched, I was this little bird, gangly and new to the world. I could barely even peep, but she still took care of me, and a year later, when she was out hunting, let out this loud screech, and she came running! She saw that I was glowing, and then it got so bright that she had to shut her eyes. When she looked again, I was a chibi me."

Rin got very involved in the tale, rolling over and watching Hikari as she spoke. 'She's a very good storyteller,' Rin thought, completely entranced. She was oblivious to everything except the sound of the older girl's voice. She wouldn't have noticed that Sesshomaru was staring at her anyway, because he liked to watch things. She didn't care if he was watching her then.

Only, he wasn't watching her, he was watching Hikari tell her tale, weaving and giving it just the right emphasis in every part. She was indeed gifted with words, as he had already found. She also had a way with children, though he supposed that that may have been brought on by the fact that she acted so much like one. As he listened to her, he noticed that her scent seemed to waft itself and creep into the crevices. It wasn't a heavy smell, or particularly arousing- in fact, it smelled completely pure. He sniffed to get a better analysis of it. Rainwater and sandalwood, he concluded. Scents that, on their own, or even combined anywhere else, would be insignificant and fickle, but when he detected them coming from Hikari, they almost resembled liquid moonlight- silvery and untouchable, but still purifying in its own regard. It wound its way into everything, opening and releasing things long shut, airing out the stale and leaving behind new life.

The Taiyoukai paused in his thoughts, realizing what was happening. He was... feeling... well, actually, just feeling. It had seemed innocuous at first, with the sensation of shock when he had first met her, going on to admiration and selfless pity earlier that afternoon, and now... contentment? Yes, it was contentment, happiness, at seeing Hikari and Rin be so lively and cheerful, lighting up lighting up his face. It was a miracle, to say the least. He hadn't thought, in all his years, that he would ever again feel. He had truly believed that the cold demeanor he had donned would continue to mask his intentions from everybody, even from himself.

Sesshomaru looked up from the amber-tinted grass, and back at the two girls laying among the sprays of wildflowers, smiling in the fading daylight. He felt it again. The pleasure of knowing that Rin was happy. It was almost as though that knowledge was the only thing keeping him tied to his mind, the only thing keeping him sane. She was the first one to have shown any hint of compassion towards him, and the reverse was true. If she hadn't been there when he had been lying in the forest, hadn't smiled at him, hadn't given him the best care she could, then he would have simply watched as that mutt Kouga's wolves tore apart the villagers, doing nothing. He wouldn't be as he was now. He might have killed Inuyasha by now, or even Naraku. But still, he was glad that that hadn't happened. Life was okay the way it was. He still wanted Naraku dead, yes, but it didn't matter to him if he carried out the act or not, as long as the filthy hanyou died in a fitting manner for all of his crimes.

As his thoughts turned to the destruction of Naraku, he began to wonder who would bring the epitome of all evil in the world to his end. While it could be him, he highly doubted it. Naraku was far more clever than anyone could ever anticipate. Perhaps Inuyasha would perform the deed. Then again, maybe not. As strong as the Tetsusaiga was, his brother could not manage to defeat such a foe without help. Though, the western lord surmised, it was possible that the fiery miko who traveled with his brother could assist in that respect. He had seen what power she possessed, and even though it was mostly dormant, it was more than powerful enough to purify an entire league of demons. The fact that she did not even know what she could do was intriguing, and he found her innocence intoxicating. Whenever he thought upon the subject, he understood again why his brother chose to travel with her, despite how insolently she acted. Admittedly, he liked that she would speak her mind. It was tiring that most women these days were made to believe that doing such a thing should be punishable. It was the way they were taught, and it made him feel relieved to know that some could rise above such oppressive lessons... though that didn't explain why she wore such revealing clothing. Another truly baffling thing. He had only known demons to wear such things, and she was clearly a miko, not a demon. But again, he didn't really think it mattered. It just made the young woman more desirable.

His ruminations ended there, as his brain finally registered that no one was speaking, and that the courtyard had grown dark. Soon, he mused, his servants would emerge to light the lamps near the doors. There were only two entrances to the garden, and both of them were on one end. The further one traveled into the threshold, the less light there was, unless the moon were out, in which case, the light would simply shift colors, from rich and golden to lucidly blue. He had designed it that way. Being able to see and be immersed in the light of the moon was something he much enjoyed, being of the canine race. The night of the new moon was the only one he would not look up at the sky, knowing he wouldn't see any part of the silvery orb hanging there.

As to the silence, he quickly discerned what was causing it. Rin had fallen asleep, and probably hadn't heard the rest of Hikari's life history. She now had her head in the aforementioned storyteller's lap, her thumb firmly ensconced in her mouth. She hadn't started to dream yet, judging by the speed of her breaths. Hikari was stroking the little girl's messy hair, a mothering smile adorning her gentle face. It was quite the endearing sight, if he did say so himself.

As if she had felt his thoughts and his gaze, Hikari turned her face, the moonlight catching its surface. The illumination caused her figure to become almost... ethereal. Her eyes shifted to twin pools of liquid silver-blue, and he almost felt drowned in emotions- both his, and Hikari's. Finally, after what seemed like a lifetime, she blinked, and he was released. A kind upturning of her lips followed. Sesshomaru had to catch himself before he gave a return smile.

He stepped over to the sleeping child, silently asking permission to take her from Hikari's arms. She nodded in accordance, and the surprisingly tender Taiyoukai scooped his ward up with his single-handed embrace, lifting Rin up to his shoulder, where she nuzzled into his tail, immediately getting comfortable. She may have been nine years old, but she hadn't grown up at all since he had found her, nearly two years prior. She'd had to grow up fast before he met her, and was now making up for lost childhood. As long as she was there with him, was all that mattered to Sesshomaru.

Hikari stood with him, rubbing Rin's back softly, like a big sister would. He found himself thinking ahead to the morning, and whether Rin would be upset at her new companion's departure. Hikari was wont to leave that night, he knew, as he watched her retrieve her pack and staff from where she had left them earlier. But, as he had found with the mysterious girl, he was often wrong about her intentions. She walked right back up to him, a quirky grin on her face.

"Show me to my room, you old softie," she chirruped. He had once again forgotten that she could read minds. She'd probably known for a while that he had wanted her to stay, for Rin.

He tried his best to reply with the same coldness to which everybody was accustomed. "You will be staying with Rin tonight. She often complains that her bed is far too large, and Jaken refuses to share it with her." Speaking of which, where was his annoying retainer?

Hikari answered his unspoken question. "Buried in the foliage somewhere, I think. He started yelling at Rin for listening to me, considering how we met. He doesn't like me much," she admitted sheepishly. "So when he started insulting me, I got a little irked, and then I kicked him into a bush or something. As far as I know, he's still there." She jerked her thumb at a rather squashed bit of branches, from which a small leather shoe could be seen poking out. Sesshomaru looked, but took no interest. Jaken would wake soon, and he'd be no worse for the wear. All the demon lord did was turn around and head out the door, Hikari trotting after him.

They went back up the two flights of stairs that they'd both traversed in the afternoon, and passed by the library, its doors now shut. They turned the next corner, passing a door that was the same as the library door, but with metal inlaid into the wood. Just beyond it, was a smaller door, only single, as opposed to the two double doors that she had seen on this floor so far. It was this one that Sesshomaru entered, and Hikari followed suit. It wasn't as large as the library, but it was ample enough for anyone- except perhaps a giant... something. The great Taiyoukai gently set Rin upon the large bed, her head resting on a cushy pillow, thumb still in mouth.

He stood back, eyeing Hikari. "I don't suppose you have nightclothes in that sack of yours," he stated, more than asked. She gave a hopeful smirk, and he 'hmm'ed. "I'll see if any of the servants have some clothes that would fit you," he said, walking out of the room. The door closed lightly behind his retreating form.

She sat on the end of the bed; it was pretty much the same size as her bed at home, just a little bigger. She felt Rin stir a little, just rolling over and hugging her pillow. It didn't take Sesshomaru long to come back, bearing a set of nightclothes and a carefully folded kimono, in shades of green and blue. He set them down on the bed next to Hikari, then left the room.

"Good night," Hikari called after him. She knew he'd heard, he just preferred not to show it. Getting changed into the green silk set of pajamas, she got in between the sheets, and tucked Rin in as well. Just before she blew out the lamp on the bedside table, she shote a bemused glance to the door, which was cracked open only enough to let a very large eye see through at knee level. The door shut very quickly, and Hikari chuckled once, then proceeded to fall asleep.

"Good night," she whispered, to no one in particular.

* * *

Katsuki- Well, that was definitely the longest chapter yet. If you keep this up, Hii-chan, you'll have a hundred thousand words in no time! 

Katsuki- Hii-chan? Where are you?

Strange Masked Man- You will never see her again until you follow every direction on this oddly monogrammed piece of paper- I mean, on this piece of paper. (Hands paper to Katsuki and runs off)

Katsuki- (reading) 'Take all the homework you have done for English and Math and photocopy it, then take it to the corner of Arlington and Hill. Leave it on the northeast side of the stop sign.' Well, those are some pretty obscure directions. I know somebody who lives near there. Maybe he can tell me who else is in both our English and Math that would do such a thing!

Hikari- (eating a cinnamon roll) Well, isn't it obvious? It's Kenny.

Katsuki- Hii-chan! You're okay! How did you know it was Kenny?

Hikari- Look on the paper. It says, 'From the desk of Kenny, who was nearly sacrificed to the gods of all things shiny and pointy'. I got him that for his birthday, remember?

Katsuki- Oh, yeah. But how did you get back? I thought he had you hostage.

Hikari- His mother foiled his plans when she came to check on him. Besides, another twenty minutes in his room, and I swear I would have gone mad. I had this uncontrollable urge to alphabetize his socks and color-code his books.

Katsuki- You poor thing.

Hikari- His mom said the same thing, and then she fed me breakfast. That woman makes a mean omlette. The rolls aren't bad, either. Strange, though, that she would be serving breakfast, since it's past noon.

Katsuki- Indeed. But, does this mean that I don't have to follow the list?

Hikari- Correct, Suki-chan. Let's read the rest of the story, shall we?

Katsuki- Sure. I only read the last paragraph of this chapter anyway.

Hikari- It's two sentences, Suki-chan.

Katsuki- So? I read it.

Hikari- Never mind. Just review.


	12. Another Day

4/23/06- Well, hello, my readers (assuming that there are any at this point.)! I probably can't express how sorry I am for leaving this so long! Really, life has been throwing me all sorts of weird curveballs, and it KNOWS I hate baseball, and pretty much all sports except for badminton and bowling (the teams of both I tried out for this year at my high school. I only made badminton. It's been okay)!

At any rate, this chapter has actually been done for several weeks, I've just been lazy about putting it up, considering I have a muse who is only slightly less scatter-brained than I.

So- an update on what has happened in the weeks apart!

I made badminton, but I never get to go to any of the invites, seeing as how I am still ranked as twelve out of twenty. Not too bad, but hey, I hate to be demoted.

On Friday, I gave an Oscar-winning performance for my mother (the Nazi of the house), and convinced her that I had a pounding headache and a light fever. So, naturally, I got to stay home from school. I tell you, it rocked! I got so caught up on the DVDs I checked out from the library. A hoot, really.

I can now officially say that I have seen every single Naruto episode in Japanese. From number one to 182, I have seen them all. Now I'm waiting for the next one to come out, sometime this week, I assume. I have also noticed that they've been getting lazy with the minor characters that are being introduced. It kind of looks like they come from Pokemon or something. Weird beyond belief.

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* * *

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**Singing to the Wind **

Chapter Twelve

_Another Day

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_

"Hii-chan! Hii-chan, wake up! It is now morning, and Rin wants you to come to breakfast!"

The bed was shaking so violently that Hikari had no choice but to try and halt it, and that involved actually waking up. Even if she managed to get Rin to stop bouncing, she'd have lost her fight with consciousness. Definitely a no-win situation this time.

She sat up, clearing the little grains of sleep from the corners of her eyes. Today would be a long, and undoubtedly interesting. She could hardly wait.

Rin continued to bounce and babble while Hikari changed into the kimono that Sesshomaru had brought her. It was just a little long, but only by an inch or so. It wasn't consequential. The color, however, when she looked into the full-length mirror, made her look very different. She almost didn't recognize herself. The blue made her eyes that much more bright, and the green caused her hair to veritably glow. It looked more red than it had ever been. Rin also noticed the difference the second Hikari stepped out from behind the changing screen.

"Sesshomaru-sama sure picked out a pretty one," she chirped, still jumping up and down on the bed. "It makes your eyes sparkle, Rin thinks."

Hikari walked up to the bed, her hands on her hips, and a playful grin decorating her features. "You should see what happens when I get mad."

Rin didn't reply. She jumped one last time, then fell on her butt on the edge of the bed so that she bounced off and landed on the gray fur rug, throwing her hands up, as though she had won something. Hikari clapped. Rin then grabbed her hand and dragged her out of the room, giggling that it was time to eat.

They entered the dining room like that, laughing and smiling, and took immediate notice of two things- one, Sesshomaru and Jaken were already there, and two, the food was out on the table. Boiled chicken eggs, rice, and fresh peaches were the only things out. Rin took her place at the nearest end, and waved Hikari over to the spot beside her.

"Good morning," said the Taiyoukai formally. The responses came identically and at once.

"Morning!"

Once the greetings were said, Rin promptly grabbed her chopsticks and dug in to the meal, to Jaken's obvious dismay. He looked as though he would burst with anger.

"You insolent child," he harshly whispered. "You do not begin eating until his Lordship says you can!"

Sesshomaru, as Hikari could tell, didn't really care about who ate first, and he was getting irate about the toad's insistence that his master always come first. He was about to tell the little imp to shut his mouth when Hikari beat him to the punch.

"Jaken," she keened sweetly. The tiny retainer stopped berating Rin, and looked in the other girl's direction. "Can you come over here for a second? I want to ask you something." She pointed to her egg, as though she wanted to know how it had been cooked. Jaken, while startled, obeyed. He saw that Hikari had much more in the way of manners than Rin, and she wasn't human, so that made her better than Rin, in his mind.

She beckoned him over to whisper in his ear. "I just wanted to know... ARE YOU BRAIN DEAD?" The force of her words made the little green demon fly into the wall, flattened there by the sheer sound. Hikari, however, was still smiling politely, and began on her food. She ignored the imp as he slid to the floor with a high-pitched 'no'.

Sesshomaru, though he didn't show it, was intensely amused. He'd wanted to smash Jaken into the wall every time he started one of his screeching rants, and it was strangely satisfying to see someone else do it for him. He almost had to repress a chuckle.

Rin was busy staring at Hikari's face, and her friend knew it.

"What is it," Hikari asked with a softness that had been totally absent from her voice mere moments ago.

Rin grinned customarily. "I see what you meant about the sparkling!" With that, she returned to gobbling down her food, and Hikari to consuming hers. Sesshomaru had no idea what his ward was talking about, and didn't bother asking. He simply ate his food in silence.

Hikari stole several glances around the table. Rin, for once, was silent, and didn't fidget as she normally did. The only time that probably ever happened was when she was eating. It was a nice change of pace, Hikari mused. The bubbly, hyperactive Rin made her want to sleep, and she had no idea why. It wasn't as though she didn't have the energy to deal with all of Rin's antics. She might even have fuel to spare, not being human.

The redhead now chanced a look at the Taiyoukai sitting to her left. According to her expert eyes and knowledge, Hikari could tell that he found her funny. Or, rather, he found something funny, because his eyes were laughing. Despite what his body language or the rest of his face might indicate, he was finding some aspect of the situation to be ludicrous enough that he was suppressing a chuckle.

Oh, right, she reminded herself. She'd yelled at Jaken. Hikari could see how that was funny. Really, she hadn't meant to yell at him. She'd wanted to tell him something that would make his blood run cold. That was always so much fun to watch, she thought. But, as she had witnessed, her temper had gotten the better of her, and Jaken had ended up as a submissive pancake on the floor. Oh, the hilarity.

Abruptly, Sesshomaru turned to her, catching her gaze for a moment. She held his stare, and spontaneously sent him a thought.

'Nice house.'

The shock spread across his amber orbs, not quite extending to his face. He was clearly surprised that she had done that, and he broke the eye contact, a bit disorientedly, returning his attention to the food in front of him. Hikari just smiled.

Rin broke her silence. "Can Hii-chan and I go play now?"

Sesshomaru shifted his eyes to the little girl, then replied shortly, "You may go play, but I must speak to Hikari." Rin nodded with false understanding, but left the room all the same. "Jaken," the lord snapped, "Watch after her." Jaken picked himself up off of the floor and hobbled out rather dejectedly.

He didn't look at Hikari when the other two left the room- he just stared out into space for a while. When he finally did speak, it took her a little off-guard, even though she'd been expecting it.

"What was it that you read in that book?"

Hikari bowed her head gracefully. "Things. I found my species," she stated mildly.

The inu youkai seemed to acknowledge that, as though he'd known all along. "Phoenix, no doubt?"

Her mouth curled up gently at the edges. "How did you know," she asked.

Sesshomaru merely gazed into nothingness. "I can remember meeting some of them, a long time ago, when my father still lived. Both of them were yellow, as I recall. Why is it that you are not?"

"Different tribe, I read. There seem to be three levels. The yellow are the bottom." Hikari looked at him out of the corner of her eye. He was still staring. "After that, the red, and then, the white." He still wouldn't look at her. "Do you remember what they were like, even a little bit?"

This time, he slid his eyes to meet hers, icy amber meeting liquid sapphire. His response was callous, but not intentionally so. "Arrogant, if I remember correctly. They were notoriously difficult to work with. Father was under the false impression that an alliance could be made with all lords of all the demon tribes. The yellow phoenixes were one of the few that did not agree with it in the least." Hikari looked disappointed. "Also," he added, "If my memory serves me right, the male said that since they were not native to the land, they shouldn't have to join in any of its pitiful treaties. Father was merciful to not have them kicked out for such a remark."

Hikari gave a light chortle. "That isn't exactly what I'd hoped to learn about my family," she reflected outwardly. "Didn't you ever meet one that was a different strain besides the golden tribe?"

The Taiyoukai nodded. "My father told me later that he'd met all three tribes, back when they were more benevolent, and abundant in number. He said to me, 'The Golden Tribe is a poor representation of their race. They are quick to anger, and the easiest to break under pressure. They would be weak allies anyway.' He told me that it was the Fire Wind Tribe that he would rather not anger, that they aren't easily provoked, but that when taunted extensively, things tend to combust."

Hikari was seriously intrigued. Questions began to line up for a chance to fly out of her mouth. "Did he ever meet one phoenix, or maybe a married couple, that could have abandoned an egg in the woods somewhere?" Her need for him to answer was clearly desperate, and she was just barely restraining herself.

It was a great letdown for her when Sesshomaru shook his white-tressed head. "If he did, he never shared the experience with this Sesshomaru. He did tell me a great deal, but never anything about an expecting lord. He only ever met the royalty, you see."

The girl fell silent, thoughts swirling around in her head. After several minutes of deep consideration, she finally formed a cohesive question and posed it. "What about the third tribe? Did he ever meet one of them?"

"Yes. We both met the same one." Hikari's expression grew into wonder, forcing the Taiyoukai to continue. "She said that she was part of a dying race."

Hikari's voice was hushed. "What did she look like," she asked.

Sesshomaru had to think. "She looked ageless. Everything about her glowed. The only thing about her that wasn't white were her eyes. They were what my father called 'the truest green ever to grace the earth'. He told me that she had come to Japan for an impossible task, but he would not mention what it was. I suppose it must have been a personal reason."

The girl sitting not six feet from him stared at the grain of the wood table for what seemed like hours. He foolishly thought for a moment that she would cry, but her eyes shed no tears. That did not, however stop her eyes from looking the most sorrowful he had ever seen them.

"You should not be sad." The inu youkai was trying to be comforting, but he fell short on his intentional meaning. "Everything will end sometime. It is simply a matter of when and how."

Hikari smiled sadly. "Thanks for the support, Fluffy."

He growled as lightly as he could manage. "You will not disrespect this Sesshomaru."

"Fine, Fluffy-san."

There was silence for a few more moments. Long, heavy, comfortable silence. Sesshomaru was the first to step through it and make a sound.

"If you never knew your parents, how did you manage to survive?"

The girl sighed. "You really should listen to the stories people are telling." She tucked an errant lock of red hair behind her ear. "I was found by a dragon. She raised me."

Now he remembered. "Yes. You said that she was foreign to Japan." Hikari nodded. "But if she was not native to Japan and its culture, how did she teach you to speak so well? Even reading would be out of your reach with such a mother."

Her head tilted upward. "I was the one who taught her to speak, actually. The first time I gained this form, I was a year old. I gave her a voice, and I suppose I was already speaking the language by then. I don't know how I learned it. The exact nature of my ability to read also remains a mystery." She suddenly laughed. "The obvious answer, in my opinion, would be that I was just born with it."

Sesshomaru seemed to be searching for something in his mind, as his gaze had turned inward. "You always smile," he observed. "When there is nothing to smile about at all. Very little in the world today is considered happy."

Hikari's answer was as cryptic as if she had said something in an incoherent language. "That's the point, isn't it?"

The graceful Taiyoukai said nothing to this. He knew that whatever he asked now, she would not respond to it in the way he would like. He was slowly getting used to the fact that Hikari's mind was not like anyone's that he had yet to meet. The more she told him, the less he understood. It would have infuriated him if he had a temper as short as Inuyasha's.

There he went again, thinking of his brother. It disgusted him to no end. Why should he waste precious time on the weak product of his father's mistaken affections, when he could be obtaining his father's fang? It made no sense to him in the least.

Hikari startled him once again, and displayed the subtle mix of powers that allowed her to know what was in another's mind.

"He's still your brother, you know. Nothing will change that, not even if you kill him. Besides, you know that your father didn't leave you his tooth, so why try to get it?"

"Tooth?" he asked. She was confusing him even more.

Turning to face him, she nodded naively. "Yeah. A fang is a tooth." This almost made Sesshomaru fall over. She didn't know that he meant 'sword' not tooth. She corrected her mistake. "Oh, sorry. It gets confusing when people use words that have double meanings." She grinned sheepishly. "Still, though, if your dad wanted for Inuyasha to have that sword, then you shouldn't bother with trying to get it from him. You already have two, one of which your father gave to you. I'm sure that Tensaiga feels rather resentful that you keep ignoring her."

His eyebrow twitched imperceptibly. "I was unaware that it was a girl." Heck, he didn't even know that swords _could _ feel at all. As far as he was concerned, they weren't even living.

Hikari laughed, in a mocking sort of way. Her voice turned into a more icy version of her previous tone. "Everything has a life. We all want what we cannot have. Tell me, Sesshomaru, what will you do once you have the Tetsusaiga? Will you kill your defenseless hanyou brother? Will a fresh killing spree sate you? What will happen when you find that all this you see around you now no longer suits you as you would like it? Will you-" Hikari had pushed him to within the edge of his rationality, and he lashed out, picking her up at the neck with his one hand.

Now it was his turn to sound below freezing. "Do not mock me. I may have more restraint that most, but there are limits. Push me past them, and face the consequences."

Hikari looked at him with her exceptionally large blue eyes. "I just wanted to know," she said. "You shouldn't feel obliged to answer the questions. Just like you shouldn't feel the need to take something from your little brother. It would be like taking candy from a baby. He can't hurt you with it, and it would serve you no real purpose, so why want it?"

The inu slitted his eyes. "He is the weaker brother. He should have the weaker sword."

The grin returned to the girl's face, despite the fact that she was hanging about two feet off of the floor. "That's quite the debatable statement there."

Her body seemed to flicker for a second, and Sesshomaru blinked. She was gone from the end of his arm. He turned to the doorway, seeing her there, laughing at him, with his outstretched claws. Having her suddenly disappear from his sight made him very annoyed indeed, not to mention perplexed. He'd never met any demon that was gifted with so many abilities. Or, at least, he'd never been told of one. Perhaps his knowledge of demonic powers could use a refresher course.

Without warning, Hikari dashed off down the hall, giggling. He figured that she was going to find Rin, and also went out of the dining room. When he reached the garden, he found Rin babbling off to Jaken. There was no sign of Hikari at all. Maybe she'd gotten lost, he mused. It wasn't as if he could find her in this castle. That annoying father of his had brought in some old hag with powers long ago who made it unable for a demon to use his powers to find another demon. Smelling her out, because of this little fact, was not an option. So if she was lost, she'd have to find her way back on her own.

Hikari was lost. She'd taken a wrong turn a while back, and all these twists and alleys that the halls formed were not helping in the least. There was absolutely no one around to help her. Where were all the servants? She seen some on the way to breakfast, and a couple last night, but it seemed that they were either avoiding her or in a staff meeting.

She took another right, and saw at the end of the hall a very large, very familiar-looking door. It was the door to the library. She was in known territory now. There was still the problem of not really being able to navigate down to where the garden was, but there might be a map of the castle in the library that she could look at.

Hikari walked to the carved doors. When she attempted opening it, it stuck, and she was afraid for a moment that they were locked, but another tug caused them to budge. She slipped in, once again admiring the scent of aged leather and paper, along with who-knows-how-many tons of dust that had accumulated throughout the years. It was a very peaceful sort of smell, she thought. It was almost as though wisdom had been captured and made into a tincture for the smelling pleasure of the masses. No one could possibly hate it.

"Now, how does he organize this," she muttered aloud, skimming the rows that were at her head level. Her first guess would have been alphabetic by author, but that theory was soon demolished. It would group together the ones that a certain author wrote, but the names were in no particular order.

She came to a few books that looked very different. She didn't know how. There was nothing really special about them, they just... felt like they should be read. By her. Like the books wanted her to read them. The names on their spines were just dates, so they must be journals of some sort. It couldn't hurt to read them, would it.

"Duh not."

Hikari picked the first one off of the shelf, noting that it had a fine layer of dust on it. She blew gently on the cover, scattering the dust nodes into the sunlit room to float about before settling on something else.

The date on the book read, 'Winter, 1103 a.d.'. It was the first one in an apparent series of journals, because it had the earliest date. The next one after it was 'Spring- Summer, 1104 a.d.'. Then the series skipped a few years. There seemed to be no discernible pattern among the dates that the books had embossed on their spines.

She opened it, noting that the paper was extra thick, and all the print was completely hand done, with no block print to be seen. The script was elegant, but readable. It was one of the more sophisticated sorts of handwriting Hikari had seen.

In the inside of the cover was written a name. The first part of it was smudged, but there were some below it, that read "Demon Dog, Lord of the Western Lands". It was obvious that these journals had been owned and written by Sesshomaru's father. Hikari figured that they would at least be slightly informative. As to what the information would be, she had no clue whatsoever.

She read the first sentence, and then slammed the tome shut.

"Did I just read what I think I read?" She opened to the first entry again. And shut the book once more, less forcefully this time. "Yup. The great Dog Demon Lord wrote 'tickling people is so much fun'. I hope he isn't talking about Fluffy there."

The nearest chair made a generous donation of dust to the atmosphere as Hikari sat on it, to continue reading the journal. Good smelling dust, though, hardly sneeze-worthy. She would have looked to see it swirl in the sunlight if it weren't for the book.

Which, interestingly enough, proved to be a good read. The writing style of Sesshomaru's father was nutty, to say the least. He would often go off on little tangents, then reroute himself by making an odd reference to something that no one could ever possibly know about.

There was one passage near the middle of the volume that particularly caught her attention, although that may just have been because it had Sesshomaru mentioned in it.

"My little boy takes after his mother. Stuck up, rude, and an egomaniac to boot. If he didn't like me, I could assure you that he'd have me thrown out of the house. He himself would never undertake such a task; he might break a nail. Fortunately for me, he has a softer side. Undoubtedly from me and mine, rather than his mother's kin. She was raised by a pack of rabid hounds, in my opinion. She laughs whenever I say this, insisting that her family was perfectly civilized. She never had to see her father's face when I told him that she was going to have a pup. Redder than anything I've ever seen, and then, once he'd calmed down, he told me I'd be dead if it was a girl. Highly unlikely, if you ask me. I could have his fang lodged in a mountainside before the old fart could give me a daily dose of 'if you've done anything I don't like' threats. I think he sits at a desk all day, just thinking up ways to insult me. I should make a list, see if he repeats himself."

Hikari chuckled. She'd never in a million years have guessed that the father of Sesshomaru, the Ice Prince, would have a genuine sense of humor. It was so unexpected.

She flipped through the pages a bit, going to an entry about a month and a half later.

"Ruts ruts ruts. I hate all these ruts. I have been on the exact same schedule for a week. It's left me severely bored out of my wits. I'd love to take a walk around the lands I control, or even around the castle grounds (drab as they are at this time of year), but apparently it's considered generally rude when the host of a peace talks neglects to show up to a meeting. Which happens once in the morning, and once in the afternoon... for two weeks. Someone save me! The horror! Actually, it's not _that_ bad. I just hate the other lords. They're so stuffy, and full of rules that even my dear mate and son would find... how shall I say... uncannily idiotic?"

Hikari spared a giggle.

"I suppose that I should stop insulting them unless it's to their faces, though. Truth be told, not all of them annoy me with an unknown fervor. The Great Land is split into four major sections- named by the compass rose. East, South, West, and North. The leaders are as follows, in order- A trio of demon tribes control the East (Raven, Marten, and a water sprite tribe), almost always shifting the power from one to another every decade of so. They do it tremendously well, might I add. The Lion Demon Tribe generally rules over the South. They have a strictly 'bloodline first' sort of monarchy. If you aren't related to the tribe, then you cannot possibly hope to have any sort of standing position in their house. I, of course, am head honcho of the west here, and I must say, I think I handle the responsibility of ruler far greater than many of my equals. More detail on that later- otherwise, I might forget to describe the other sect. The wolves used to preside over the north, but for some reason, the royal line died off, taking with it most of the good nature and common sense of the breed, and the decision was made to transfer them to under my rule some sixty years ago. Now, in a more temporary status, a group of very colorful birds watch over it. At least until the Kitsunes are appointed, in a few years. The proceedings are taking a decidedly longer time than is wanted, and far more than necessary. For now, the very capable birds will handle it.

I can recall meeting some of their kind a long while ago, a little more than a hundred years ago. Passerbys, I believe. A man and his mate, though that detail was not told to me. I could smell it. The woman was with child. If one looked closely enough, they could see that she was just barely starting to show. Sweet couple, really. They almost acted like newlyweds. I have to strain my mind to remember the names... Sorairo, was the woman, and her mate was... Daisuke, I think. Both very fitting names, if I do say so myself.

I recall that they didn't stay long- past that, it all goes surreptitiously fuzzy. Though I do remember that the woman ate quite a good bit of the salad the two nights she stayed here. It must have been her crave food- my mate's was a minty paste. It made her breath smell very nice while she was carrying my son, though. I'm surprised he didn't come out smelling like mint."

Hikari's face shifted to that of intrigued wonder. Though Sesshomaru's father hadn't said that they were phoenix, she wondered if the two 'passerbys' had in fact been her parents. The timing for it was about right- the entry had been written about a hundred years after her birth.

"Daisuke..." she muttered, reading over that passage again.

"Too bad he couldn't give a description, the lazy ass." Her double was back, and as facetious as ever.

"Hi there!"

The reflection didn't seen quite as enthusiastic as Hikari. She gave a standard 'good morning' as she sat by the window. Hikari got confused.

"It isn't morning, is it? I thought it was afternoon."

The scrunched nose of the original gave the copy something to smirk about. "Not only is it morning now, it's morning all the time. Think about it. There's always another noon coming, so it can't truly be after noon, can it?"

Hikari nodded, and the other her changed the subject.

"Honestly, if you want to know, I don't know if the people he described are our parents. And a description really wouldn't help that much. The fact that they never found us, if they ever looked, tells me that they might just be out of commission." She leaned back against the wall of the nook, tucking her legs under her. Hikari, of course, misunderstood the words.

"So they didn't come looking for me because they don't have jobs?"

That prompted a laugh. "Not only was that not what I meant, though it is true...- but you're completely missing the point." At this time, the clone turned to Hikari. "The only reason why a couple who were obviously happy to be having a child would abandon it, and then not seek it out, would be if they were dead."

Hikari's mouth went a little dry. "I wanted to meet them," she breathed.

Her double (whom Hikari had begun to think of as Onee-chan) gave a softly reassuring smile. "It doesn't mean I'm right. There may be extenuating circumstances here." She paused, then revised the last sentence. "Something may have happened to them, and they just never knew you were alive. Or maybe they just missed you every time they'd come close to finding you."

These statements calmed Hikari slightly. Onee-chan was making sense.

Suddenly, the duplicate came out with a question that threw Hikari off. And with good reason.

"Do you like ponies?"

Hikari stuttered for a moment. "I- um- yeah. Why?"

The copy shrugged. "No reason. It was just something that flitted through my mind."

Silence from the peanut gallery.

"Besides," the nonchalant one continued, "You were thinking too much. You know what that does to you..."

The next phrase was spoken in unison.

"Brain go kablooey!" Raucous laughter from both parties followed directly after the exclamation.

Once the laughter died, Hikari began to contemplate another thing that had just occurred to her.

"If you're part of me, then how can you come out here and still have me think this well?"

Her counterpart rose from the window seat, throwing her arms out in an open gesture, as though she were showing herself to the whole world. "Projection," she stated simply. "You know how your shadow is shaped just like you, but it isn't you? Think of me as a shadow, because wherever I appear is where you are." Her explanation didn't leave Hikari nodding, but it was apparent to anyone that she understood nonetheless.

"Then why aren't you on the floor?"

Hikari nearly corrected herself, for her double _was_ now on the floor. She'd fallen over, for whatever reason, and was now shaking slightly. When the 'shadow' rolled over, it was apparent to anyone that would chance to look that she was laughing incredibly hard.

"You realize that if you said that with a serious voice, someone would mistake you for being smart?" Onee-chan had only enough of a space in the giggling for that sentence, and was again back to lying prostrate at Hikari's feet.

Who, by the way, had barely any idea of why that was funny. She normally found the humor in anything. Maybe it was because she hadn't meant it to be a joke.

Nonetheless, she chuckled a little bit. Genuine laughter is contagious, as Hikari very well knew. Even Fluffy probably wanted to at least smile when Rin was happy and frolicking.

"Speaking of which," a voice mentioned from the ground, "Where is that wonderful ray of sunshine and daisies?"

Hikari shrugged. "Well, I- er- we got lost, and maybe he didn't know where we'd gone. I don't know why he didn't go looking for me- us."

Onee-chan propped herself up on her elbows. "So let's go find him, then. I'm sure this castle is in some way negotiable." Her last word was met with a stare that was both blank and confused at the same time, and Onee-chan sighed. "I'm sure that we don't need a map to find a familiar hallway."

With that, she bounded out of the room, followed by Hikari, who, for some unfathomable reason, was singing to herself. "Skipping through the daisies, let's skip through the daisies!"

The shadow's pace slowed to an enthusiastic walk, but Hikari continued to skip. Not only did she skip, but she added twirling to her jovial movements. The singing, of course, continued. Oddly enough, though, she managed to follow her 'shadow' just fine.

Thirteen turns later, the pair came across a staircase. That would have lead to a whoop of joy for both, had it not been for the fact that it only went up. Their intention was to go downstairs. So they bypassed the stairs.

Two minutes later, Hikari halted. She sniffed the air, and briefly muttered "flowers" before dashing off. Her Onee-chan could hardly keep up.

Around corners, down a set of steps, and through a few doorways, Hikari finally found what she had smelled. It was the garden. Her face fell, however, when she saw that it was unoccupied. She followed form and entered, staring up at the multihued sky. It was almost dusk.

Onee-chan came in soon after her and took her place next to the original copy. She didn't say a word, afraid to break the spell the clouds were casting.

Hikari stood perfectly still (a rarity, for sure) for who knows how long. The colors faded, as did the light, and then the moon had appeared in the background of sparkling stars. She remained, unmoving. The only thing that had changed was that her eyes were now closed.

Softly, she began to sway, entranced by a melody none could hear. She spun and twirled, twisted and jumped. Onee-chan watched. The moon had that effect on Hikari which made her want to do things that would be considered less odd than her normal repertoire.

There was a soft rustling of grass by the doorway, and Hikari broke out of her current spin to face the sound. Much of her hair settled in front of one shoulder, still visibly contrasting with the green in her kimono. Standing in the doorway was the young boy whom she'd seen the day before. Takayo, she remembered. His hand rested lightly on the door frame, and he wore an expression that was a combination of serenity and captivation.

She blinked. "Hello."

Takayo took a step forward, and Hikari a step back. His hand went out.

"Please, don't stop dancing because of me. I didn't mean to interrupt you."

Her wide doe eyes softened, and her chin dropped a little. There was something in the boy's eyes that she found incredibly and irresistibly sincere. Her swaying motions started up again, but they were not as they had been a few moments ago. She spun and jumped several times, always bringing her eyes back to rest on the one watching her. It barely even registered in her mind that Onee-chan was gone. She just continued to dance playfully, and the boy slowly moved over to the bench, still not taking his gaze off of the one who had bewitched him.

He was about to sit down when Hikari made a very bold move indeed. She grasped one of his hands in each of her own, and pulled him along with her. Now they were both caught up in a strange waving pattern, guided only by the light from the moon and the stars. She let go of one of hs hands, and he spun her around by the one they were still connected with.

Takayo didn't even notice that he was no longer on the ground until his feet touched down on an uneven surface. He looked down, letting Hikari spin off on her own. Turned out that he was on the roof. How he had gotten there, he could only wonder. Much less to his knowledge was how he was going to get down.

Meanwhile, his 'dance partner' was still spinning, and also happened to be giggling as she did it. She began to go a little faster, reveling in the unbroken moonlight. As she flitted past him for a third time, he grabbed one of her outstretched hands, effectively stopping her. She opened her eyes, let the other hand fall to her side, and put on an innocent expression.

"What," she asked simply.

"How did we get up here?" The question brought a coy smile to Hikari's lips.

"We flew, silly." Another short laugh resounded. "Or rather, we floated. It would have been faster if we just flew."

Takayo took a look over the edge of the roof, briefly noting that it was, in fact, a long way down. He was about to ask his second question when a fit of uncontrollable dizziness over took him. The world spun a few times, and when it stopped, he found that he was sitting down on the lightly slanted surface. Hikari was standing above him, still holding onto his hand. The moon was casting a halo upon her head. A kind smile adorned her face.

"You shouldn't stand so close to the edge like that," she intoned. "Not unless you have someone to keep you from falling." Her other hand extended, and he took it, pulling himself up. It was then that he noticed that she was rather short compared to him. At least by four inches.

She began to turn away, but he held on and prevented her from doing so. "I still don't know your name."

Her lips turned up a little more.

"Hikari," she said, before stepping away, taking Takayo along with her. One hand released, and she led him to the edge of the roof once more. He was astounded when she stepped off and... kept on walking. He hesitated, unsure of if he should follow.

The smaller girl in front of him smiled reassuringly. "You won't fall," she teased. "Trust me."

It was such a large request, dropped so lightly from between her lips, that he doubted she knew the gravity of the thing she was asking. He'd just met her. How did she expect him to trust her with his life already?

And yet, he accepted. Just like that, he let himself step off of the high perch into nothingness- and was greeted with the blissful feeling of safety. With Hikari, he walked at a downward angle, until they were on the soft ground once again.

The feeling fled all to quickly, and he didn't like it. Being weighted down was no fun at all.

When he looked up from his musings, he was that Hikari was watching him. She seemed amused. Their eyes met, and she lifted up his hand, and twirled under his arm. He laughed. She was so... cute, he supposed was the word. One couldn't help but like her, he imagined.

They sat down on the bench, and struck up a conversation.

"What kind of person are you, Hikari, that you can defy gravity?"

"A phoenix," she declared, drawing out the word with a childish air.

His tone took on a playfully disbelieving quality. "A phoenix? Being this chibi? How strange."

"Hey! I'm not chibi!" she protested.

"You're shorter than me," he pointed out, "And I'm not exactly a giant among men."

The banter continued on in that manner for several more hours, until Hikari cut off abruptly.

"I forgot about Rin," she exclaimed. Takayo agreed to take her to the little girl's room, and he led her along the twisting passageways. She wondered how he did it- the place was large enough that you would need a map to navigate properly. Once the destination was reached, they parted with the promise to meet again and talk.

"Oh, and Hikari..."

She turned, halfway though the door. "Yes?"

"Call me Kayo, if you will," he said gently.

She smiled warmly, returning the gesture. "Call me whatever you want, 'kay?"

Kayo nodded and bowed slightly, before heading off.

When Hikari entered the room, Rin was fast asleep, and Sesshomaru was sitting in a chair in front of the window. He was very much awake, and oddly peeved at something, most likely his house guest. He gave off that vibe that made it well known that there was a very rough stick up his ass.

Well, that would be how Hikari would percieve and translate it as. Not may others had the audacity to even think such things about him.

"You shouldn't wander off for a whole day without an escort," he enunciated, with a hard edge to his voice. "You might get lost." A pause. "Though I suppose 'might' is giving you a little too much credit, ne?"

Hikari wasn't smiling, but yet, not frowning either. "You're an awfully hot-and-cold person," she said, as more of a statement than a question. She walked over to the dresser, and extracted a nightgown. Sesshomaru walked up behind her, sniffing at the air delicately.

"And you shouldn't bother associating with the staff," he added icily. "You'll no doubt like to be heading home in a few days."

She sidestepped him, quipping, "If you keep up that attitude, I might just stay longer." She dropped the clothing onto the end of the bed, and faced him with a mocking smirk. "Now, I know you like to spy on naked women, Fluffy, but will you please give a girl her privacy?"

It was almost disappointing when Sesshomaru growled and left quickly. She snickered. Getting rid of the old fart was too easy. And too much fun, as well. She changed, and climbed into bed. Rin, her thumb stuck firmly between her teeth, snuggled over.

Another night... Hikari was almost too used to the place already.

* * *

Hikari- Well, well, another night in the castle... I wonder what I'll explore tomorrow. 

Kayo- Well, Why don't I try exploring something?

Hikari- Really? What?

Kayo- You.

Saikyou- Don't mind them, they have dirty minds.

Hikari- How can our minds be dirty if they never need to be cleaned?

Saikyou- Not that kind of dirty, Hii-chan. The kind of dirty that makes people in hardware stores stare at you and wonder why people do that in public.

Hikari- Oh, so you heard about that?

Saikyou- Yup. What, does he follow you around everywhere or something? Honestly, Kayo- is HOME DEPOT the preferable place to molest your girlfriend?

Kayo- No... it was just where we were.

Saikyou- I give up.

Hikari- No, Sai-sai, you can do it! You just need the assistance of Shiro, or someone who has an equally strange mind as me! Don't give up!

Kayo- 'Kari, do you even realize that you're rooting for her to make you un-hentai?

Hikari- What! Nobody ever told me that!

Saikyou- You should have been listening. I'll just go now.


End file.
